Hey wonderful folks,
Happy to connect with you again, with a really powerful note on 'Forgiveness'. Ever since we were children, we were taught that 'forgiveness' is one of the most important virtues. I love reading bedtime stories to my little toddler every night. Whenever I wanted to remind my child about the power of forgiveness, I’d remind the story of the 'Rotten Potatoes'. It was our special way of understanding how holding onto anger can weigh us down—and how letting go can set us free.
Many of you may have already heard this story, but it’s worth repeating. The story goes as follows.
A teacher once asked her students to bring a bag full of potatoes to class. The next day, each student came in with their bag. The teacher then told them to assign the name of a classmate they disliked to each potato. So, if a child disliked five classmates, they placed five potatoes in their bag—each representing someone they held anger or dislike towards.
My daughter had three potatoes in her 'unreal' potato bag. Ha ha!
Here came the challenge: the teacher told them they had to carry the bag of potatoes with them everywhere for the rest of the week—no matter what. They were not allowed to put it down, not even at night.
The first few minutes was exciting and fun. But soon, the weight became uncomfortable. Their arms ached. The potatoes began to rot. By mid-week, the smell was unbearable. The children were frustrated, tired, and eagerly waiting for Friday to arrive.
Finally, on Friday, the teacher allowed them to set down their bags. Then she asked about their experience.
Each child shared how hard it was to carry the bag—how heavy, smelly, and inconvenient it became.
The teacher smiled and said, “If it’s this hard to carry around a few potatoes for a week, imagine how hard it is for your heart to carry anger and hatred toward others every single day.”
The room went silent. And in that moment, the children truly understood the value of forgiveness. They forgave their classmates—and felt lighter, freer.
My daughter was truly awed with the moral! It was such a joy to watch her smile at the end of the story when she understood its deeper meaning.
The kind of forgiveness I’m speaking about goes a step further—it's about 'forgiving ourselves'.Recently, I came across a powerful exercise, it is as follows : Stand in front of a mirror and Say, 'I'm sorry. Please forgive me.' It may seem simple, but it's incredible when you keep saying it to yourself until you experience the magic.
Thats the emotional exercise, thats truly important for all of us. The relief it touched me with, was admirable. When I gave it a chance, it helped me release guilt. Yes, you heard that right. We talk about mistakes—big ones, small ones, especially those made by others. Sometimes we even admit, 'Yeah, I made that mistake, won’t do it again.' But guilt? That sticks with us.
It’s something we all carry quietly, without really talking about it. That was a transformative moment - in front of the mirror, where my eyes met my own. That was the moment, I no longer needed a second person to validate my actions. I understood that all I ever wanted is already within me and its within my power to choose to heal or hurt myself with my own thoughts. That was the moment for me, when I loved myself even more. I am more than enough and all I want is already within me. For all these years, there has always been so many instances of pain I have been carrying inside!
We all carry wounds—pains we believe that were caused by others. And while someone may have hurt us verbally or physically or through any of their actions, it's often we who continue the harm by holding on to them as if it was so dear. We replay the memories, relive the moments, and reopen the wounds. In doing so, we imprison ourselves in a cycle of suffering.
Healing begins not with forgetting the harm we had to undergo, but with releasing—choosing peace over pain, and freedom over the burden of the past. And I decided to Let go of all the wounds I had picked up along, heartily.
To all the hardships I’ve endured—mentally, physically, emotionally and psychologically,
To every moment of disrespect I’ve faced from the society around me,
To the unfulfilled desires I carried for so long, from the smallest toy I wished for and could not have to my passion I was not able to achieve,
To all the physical pain I had to endure, silently
To the mental peace I always deserved but never quite found.
To all the times I put others needs before my own, at the cost of my own well-being.
Today, I choose to release it all :)💔 with these powerful words "I’m sorry. I forgive myself."!
Not because it was acceptable, but because I no longer want to carry these burdens.
Because I owe it to myself to heal, to forgive, and to move forward."
To all the kindness, I have always been showering and still choosing to shower onto the people around me, hoping to understand their pain and offer them help anyway, even if it meant crossing my own boundaries and borders, ignoring my own needs, I’m sorry. I forgive myself.
I’m sorry. I forgive myself." I’m sorry.I forgive myself."
I'm sorry, I forgive myself. '
To all the love I deserved in my child-hood,
To all the love that was forbidden to find me,
To all the wars I battle within myself, through my mind, my heart and my soul - I am sorry, I forgive myself.
For all the strengths I gain today, to the gaps I find and try to fill with the love needed, so my children will not have to undergo the same battle again, I am sorry , I forgive myself.
And after all this, I am still choosing to be more kind, more lovable, more confident because, I found love within me and its the best gift I could ever get for 'Forgiving myself'.
Thats the moment I found ‘ME’.
To every passing minute, I have to let go of all the x's, y's and z's, just once and for good.
This post is my personal expression of growth and forgiveness. I am deeply thankful for my lovable parents, my dearest soulmate husband, lovable daughter , friends and everything they’ve done for me. Any mention of pain is not meant to blame, but to acknowledge the layers of life that shaped me and the strength I’ve found through them.
If any of my words have moved you, shaken you, or resonated with at least one of you, I am truly grateful to having shared this powerful lesson over here.
It’s a reminder of the strength and resilience we all hold within ourselves.
Please feel free to share your thoughts here—I’d love to hear, how this resonates with you! Thank you for reading this far :)