Like a heavy weight on my heart, lead in my soul and fog in my mind lay the subject of unforgiveness…I didn’t realise my subconscious drive to hold myself captive by this burden of punishment. Yet, there it was…Because how dare I? How dare I forgive myself for that day? How dare I choose to let go of the heaviest cloak of responsibility whilst she is suffering the consequences everyday?

And when confronted with the truth – I felt responsible to suffer alongside her, I cried out: “How dare I let go of the guilt? It’s the least I can do for my utter failure as a mother”.

I was shocked by my own words. However I knew they were my truth, robbing me and my family from a life lived fully. I had to face the dark corners of my mind, the closed doors of my heart and face my inability to choose freedom.

And layered behind this was the subject of Fear. Because what if forgiving myself is equal to letting my daughter down? What if living my life means I won’t continue to sacrifice everything for her? And what if following my purpose and gifts steals too much time away from her needs?

I was advised to stop running away from my fears and inability to forgive. I needed to metaphorically turn around, face them and invite them for a sit down chat and casual cup of coffee.

After years of hiding from my Fear and Unforgiveness this was very difficult. It was a process that broke down all the walls of my carefully maintained emotions. I cried the ugly cry…Many times.  And eventually I was able to say: “Rhonel, I forgive you. It was an accident. A terrible accident. You are not to blame. You are only human.”

Maybe you’re also running away from yourself. Maybe you are also afraid of letting go of the hurt, of shining a light upon the darkest corners of your heart. But trust me; it is weighing you down and robbing you silently everyday from living fully. Like an invisible rubberband it pulls you back to the past…

After facing my fears and forgiving myself I found freedom. Freedom to look ahead to a future worth living for. And the surprising thing is that I am actually now more connected to Juneldè without the burden of guilt poisoning our relationship…It was an incredibly difficult process – but so worth it!