No one ever dies from a snake bite. It’s the venom that continues to pour through your system after the bite that ends up destroying you. Choosing to hold on to resentment is like allowing venom to run through your body. I believe there are no justified resentments, regardless of what you’ve been through. Someone may have cheated on you, lied to you, abused you, deceived you, left you for another person, taken advantage of you, not paid you back the money they borrowed from you, made fun of you, talked about you behind your back, humiliated you, the list goes on and on. Regardless of what anyone has done to you or how much hate that’s been directed towards you by another that you feel gives you the right to be resentful, there is no justified resentment.
If you carry around resentment of any kind, directed at anyone for any reason, those resentments will always end up harming you, creating in you, a sense of despair, robbing you of your joy. Once a venomous snake bites, you can’t be unbitten, what’s done is done, but once bitten you can immediately begin to take measures to neutralize the venom so that you will not be adversely affected by the venom.
Chances are that during your lifetime you will be bitten by a few snakes, but it’s up to you to neutralize the bite by forgiving and continuing to move forward. Know that when you forgive anyone for any reason, you do so for yourself, not for them, it keeps what they did from continuing to hurt your heart. Forgiving only takes a moment, but the effects are life changing. To resent, you must continue to do so, day in and day out, it’s exhausting, and as you continue to ruminate and resent, you allow the poison to flow, slowly destroying you and robbing you of your joy. It’s like grasping a hot coal with the intent of harming another; you are the one who gets burned.
Remember that happiness is an inside job, don’t assign anyone else that much power over your life. Pain in your life is inevitable, but misery is optional, another person always needs your permission to offend you. It’s never to late to make happiness your choice. Remember, the snake bite doesn’t harm you, it’s the venom.