This week, I asked one of my clients what they wanted to focus on in our upcoming session. Their answer came quickly and simply: “healing and forgiveness.”
Two words. So small. So big.
It’s interesting how often those two travel together—how tightly they’re woven into the same thread of the human experience. You rarely find one without the other. Healing calls on us to release. Forgiveness asks us to surrender. And both demand that we face something uncomfortable before we’re truly ready to let it go.
But here’s the thing: forgiveness isn’t about excusing behavior, erasing pain, or even being “okay” with what happened. It’s not about saying, “This didn’t matter.” It’s about saying, “This doesn’t get to control me anymore.”
And healing? Healing doesn’t always mean things are fixed or forgotten. It means we begin again. It means we soften. It means we say to ourselves, “I am worthy of peace.”
Sometimes, the person we’re trying to forgive is someone else. A friend who betrayed us. A parent who couldn’t show up in the way we needed. A stranger who caused harm without ever realizing it.
Other times, it’s ourselves.
The choices we made when we didn’t know better. The words we said out of fear. The years we spent carrying shame that never truly belonged to us.
I once read that forgiveness is like clearing space in your home—you don’t do it for the benefit of what you’re letting go of. You do it so you can finally breathe in your own space again. I believe the same is true for our inner world.
In my practice, I often guide people through rituals of release—writing down what they’re ready to let go of and symbolically offering it to the elements: water, fire, breath. These small acts of intention can bring huge shifts. Not because the paper held magic, but because we made the decision to stop carrying what was never ours to hold forever.
So, if you’re reading this and something heavy comes to mind—someone, something, some version of yourself—you’re not alone.
You don’t have to forgive all at once.
You don’t have to heal in a straight line.
You just have to start where you are.
If you’d like to try a forgiveness ritual of your own, I’ve created a printable handout with steps to help you gently move through reflection and release. Feel free to message me and I’d be happy to share it with you.
May this week be one of softening. Of turning inward. Of loosening the grip on what has already shaped you, so it no longer has to define you.
I thank you for being here. If you enjoyed this post, there’s plenty more where that came from, everything from soulful healing tips to playful prompts and real conversations about life.
Theresa
Flexible Being
Empowering Your Journey to Healing, Clarity, and Self-Discovery.
Find me and connect today:
Email: theresa@flexiblebeing.com
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
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@theresamartinezshapiro
@flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
