PRUTII

As Vivian Gornick explains, “What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened.”

Shame works better if we keep it secret. So find the courage to do the counterintuitive thing and tell someone what happened -- invariably those conversations end with laughter.

• Forgiveness is choosing to accept what happened as it happened rather than what could or should have happened. 
• Forgiveness can mean that you let go. 
• Forgiveness can mean you step into your present rather than anchoring in the past.