How Do You Find Forgiveness in Gratitude?

This was a topic that was discussed in an article that I read today, which captivated my thoughts for the rest of the evening.  There are many individuals who had very tough beginnings to their lives and the memories that most people would have about their childhood, which would normally be filled with feelings of happiness can actually be non-existent for some.  For people that grew up in an abusive home or were the victims of abuse themselves, there are many painful memories that may be suppressed as a result of not wanting to feel anymore pain as an adult.  When you think about a young child, you typically have thoughts of a free spirit that looks at the world with wonder in their eyes and questions everything under the sun.  One usually has a sense of happiness when it comes to thinking about a child and it is rare that people find themselves feeling sorry for what a child may have undergone through no fault of their own.  There are many organizations that exist to assist the children that were brought up without their birth parents or were given up for adoption for a number of reasons.  As such, one would imagine that these adults who were not able to be fulfill their role as parents, were actually doing the child a great favor by letting them be raised by someone who really wanted them in their life.  The sad fact exists that not all of these children who were left for adoption made it to a loving family where their troubles ended when a yearning parent wanted to call them their son or daughter.  For children that are part of the foster system, there are many tough stories about the things that went wrong for these children, where they transitioned into adults with baggage that is so deep and heavy, that it can take many more years before they are comfortable in their own skin.  There are stories that can break your heart, when it comes to those who suffered needlessly or who fell through the cracks that our own communities may have turned a blind eye, not knowing what was happening near their back yard.  As a child one does not have the ability to see things as an adult would.  Therefore, it becomes extraordinarily important to realize as an adult that forgiveness can be found in having gratitude for the lessons that one may have learned, even though they were lessons that should not have been so hard for some.  The fact that one can stand up in their adult years and feel the ground underneath them while they can honestly say to themselves that they did survive, is something worth having gratitude for.  The people or the circumstances that created such bad feelings in the beginning of one's life, can be the catalyst for how one wants to change and live the rest of their life vastly different.  Never underestimate the power that forgiveness has, as one's own soul can feel the weight of the world lifted from their shoulders when acceptance and forgiveness can be made.  Think about the things that need forgiving in your life and make peace with the fact that you may have learned a tough lesson or one that bares never repeating.  In the end, your ability to walk past those things that should have less importance in your life, versus those that need to take center stage will usually outnumber the negative.  Hold your head up high and be thankful that today you are able to own the life that you have, while you make plans for a wonderful ending that will far outweigh any poor beginning you may have had.