Forgiveness Forgiveness, One of those things I have heard a few times from different people through my life, Many times I got angry, cried and ignored what they were saying to me, Pushed people away from me, I was not in the place to hear about forgiving myself or them for what they did to me, Now, in this moment, I am ready to forgive myself for what happened when I was 11, 19, 23 and 25, I know that the things that I hold on to that keeps me stuck in pain, anger grief, and

Thought that I could run away from the pain, Darkness followed me and caused even more pain, Another heinous crime committed against me, More betrayal, More victim blaming, shaming, and feeling lost, Lost in feelings that cut me to the core, Lost in feeling like it was my fault, There are flashbacks, nightmares, fear, self-hatred, I am lost deep inside of myself, You came beside me and helped me know that I am safe, You taught me how to trust someone again, You taught me how

An inspirational poem I wrote after co creating, Service with my friend and mentor Lynda. There have been people put in my life that have been lights in my darkness, They showed me the way back to myself by shining their light in the darkness, They gently guided me onto the healing path when I was lost in deep emotional pain and had no hope, They came beside me to tell me that could borrow there hope until I had my own hope, They told me that I mattered, They cared about me a