What old bags are you still carrying?

I get it! There are people we cannot easily forgive, and situations that still sting no matter how much time has passed. Forgiveness isn’t always simple, and it certainly isn’t linear. But it also isn’t impossible. Science has shown, again and again, that holding on to grudges, resentment, and old emotional wounds takes a real toll on both our physical and mental health. The body remembers what the mind tries to bury.

We often revere the essence of The Divine: ever loving, ever compassionate, ever forgiving. And yet, forgiveness might be one of the hardest divine qualities for us to embody. It asks us to soften where we’ve been hardened, to release where we’ve been gripping, to trust where we’ve been wounded.

But what if it wasn’t as difficult as we imagine. What if the first step toward forgiveness is not a grand emotional breakthrough, but a simple, sincere prayer.

A practice like Ho’oponopono; the Hawaiian prayer of reconciliation has a way of loosening the knots we’ve carried for years. Its simplicity is its power.

“I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.”

These four lines don’t erase the past, but they free us from the emotional entanglements that keep us tied to it. They soften the edges of anger. They dissolve the heaviness of resentment. They release both the other person and you.

Because forgiveness is not about approving what happened. It’s about choosing not to carry the weight of it anymore.

So be a light traveler. Discard the old bags; the grudges, the stories, the emotional luggage you’ve outgrown. Travel lightly on this worldly path, with more space for joy, clarity, and peace.

And maybe ask yourself gently: Which old bag am I finally ready to put down.

Musings by,

Logappriya Rajendran