As I was driving home from work today, I had a "moment" and found myself stuck again thinking of my past ... of all the mistakes I've made - of all the people I've hurt. It led me to thinking of a friend of mine who has also made some mistakes. I talk a lot to her about self-forgiveness because I think it's important, although I don't think I have forgiven myself yet for my mistakes. In the midst of driving ... I wondered if either one of us had really forgiven ourselves and "we didn't know it". I mean, what defines "self-forgiveness"? Does it mean you don't think about your mistakes? Does it mean understanding why you made the mistakes? Does self-forgiveness mean that you can "joke" about it? Is it something that's not so serious anymore? I think that people forgiving you for your mistakes helps, but I know it doesn't mean anything for self-forgiveness. I don't think there is a time limit, I feel everyone is different.

They say the past makes you who you are ... and I believe that's really the case. I also believe there are some personal mistakes that take longer to recover from. Once you've worked so hard at fixing your life after your mistakes - when do you know when you've forgiven yourself? How would you define "self-forgiveness"?