I’m sure that at this point, we’ve pretty much all been there. We’ve done something hurtful and someone has done something unkind to us. It happens daily, with varying levels of impact. That’s life, in its horror and its splendor!

Has it ever been easy? I don’t think so.

And boy do I try to believe that it hasn’t been easy for you, too.

You are reluctant.

You don’t want to acknowledge the bad stuff; you don’t want to admit your faults.

You’re probably very mature in other aspects of your life, and yet you aren’t choosing to be at the moment.

Perhaps you have a difficult time emotionally and it still cuts you deep in ways I can’t possibly imagine.

Even though you were the one who messed up.

And it still affects you whenever you think about it.

You don’t feel comfortable disclosing your true emotions because of the past; you want to hide your feelings away.

I wonder if you want to apologize, but you don’t know how. If that’s the case, now is the time to do it.

Please do not pretend that everything is okay and downplay your feelings; that won’t help you to move forward.

Trying to keep things light-hearted won’t help either.

I know you may not know how to apologize. I’ve been in your position, when I didn’t know how to say sorry.

You just do it from the heart. It’s as simple as that. You get the hell out of your comfort zone, where you don’t have to face the past or your feelings, and you just say, “I’m sorry.”

Don’t make excuses for yourself or try to manipulate another person’s feelings.

Don’t blame your troubles on God or fate or timing.

Take responsibility for the choices you’ve made.

If you feel you’ve wronged someone in some way, it isn’t hard to apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

That’s all it takes.

You’re not over it? You haven’t dealt with those emotions yet?

Well now is the perfect time to face those difficult emotions head on and stop allowing them to dictate your life.

Stop avoiding; stop stalling. It’s time to get over it and to move forward.

If I can do it, you can certainly do it, too.

Stop repressing your feelings. You can move past it.

Tear down the walls you’ve put up, because you can and because I know you want to.

There’s a new beginning on the other side of this.

I know it’s hard and I know you’re restricting yourself from taking action, but deep down in your heart, you know you have to clear the air.

You have to face the past in order to heal.

It takes strength to say “I’m sorry,” and it takes even more strength to forgive.

How strong are you?

I don’t always have the words to express how I feel. Sometimes actions are better than anything you could possibly say. But if you’re reading this anywhere in the world and you want to apologize to someone, start with “I’m sorry.” Ease into it with just these two words.

I hope that with this, YOU, whoever you are, have the courage to come over and say: “I’m sorry.”