I heard a saying a long time ago - blame is easier to give than to receive. Ain't' that the truth! As true as that statement is, it equally true that our personalpower is directly connected to our personal responsibility. When we blame others for where we are in life we are giving our personal power away. When we give our power away we begin to feel and act like victims. When we begin to feel and act like victims we begin to feel powerless. It is a downward spiral into darkness. I invite you to step into the light and reclaim your personal power through taking personal responsibility for your life and your actions. We can't change what happened to us but we CAN change how we respond. Some of you may be saying that I just don't understand how challenging and even awful life has been for you, I can honestly say I can. Growing up I suffered pretty much every form of abuse and I admit my anger was deep and consuming. I found though that through forgiveness and taking responsibility for my life, all of my life -the good, the bad and the ugly, I was able to reclaim my personal power. I can't change what happened to me any more than I can walk on air but I can change how I react and respond. I no longer carry the burden of anger because the only person I was hurting was myself. Those that hurt me stopped thinking about me long ago but I carried them around with me everyday letting them hurt me over and over again. When I forgave them they stopped having power over me and I was free of their bondage, I was free to live my life happy, joyous and free. I think the most interesting thing about forgiveness is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the person we're forgiving and everything to do with our own self healing. Through the power of forgivenesswe let go of the poison of anger and we stop hurting ourselves. I admit it isn't easy but it is WAY worth the effort and every time we let the poison go it gets easier and easier until one day we realize that we aren't angry anymore and that we are beginning to live the life we've always wanted.