Holding A Grudge…. And Letting Go

We talked about this on the show today--Gwen told her story about how a former roommate of hers, who she helped with not only a place to live, but financially as well--betrayed her and went around talking trash about her around town. And when she discovered it, that was the end of the relationship (and it hasn't ever been repaired). And I told my story-about how a childhood friend of mine, who my mom had asked to be a Pall Bearer at my Grandmother's funeral back in 1987 (Grandma passed when I was 18), decided at the last minute the day of the service that he wasn't going to do it, and went to work (he was staying with my family at the time, and my Grandma who'd passed was also living with us and she was always very sweet to him--making him a brown bag lunch with sandwiches when he went to work, things like that)... So it hurt when he turned his back on me and my family with this simple request he decided he wasn't going to honor.

So after the service, I came home and packed all his stuff and left it sitting in a duffle bag on my front porch with a note telling him he needed to find a place to live. And I left to go do the internship I was doing with CBS Radio in Chicago at the time. I feel bad though because I left my Mom at home to deal with his reaction when he came home and found his stuff outside. Almost 20 years went by--and we happened to reconnect in 2006 thanks to social media, and I decided to forgive him. We did a few dinners with some other fellow classmates of ours, and saw each other at a few school reunions but that's been about it. We aren't the best of friends like we were when we were kids but we do keep in touch.

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Are YOU holding a grudge? Over what? And for how long? I can tell you that in my experience, it's wasted energy. And it feels so much better to let it go--not for the other person's benefit--but for your own! If you have a story you'd like to share--comment in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you. And thanks as always for reading!