Recently we finished a season of several holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Were these happy occasions for you or did some old uncomfortable feelings resurface? Now we are about to celebrate Valentine’s Day, a time when we are to think of those whom we love. Unfortunately, the holidays are a time when many people have to face other people or situations that remind them of a hurt they may still be feeling. Just because these feelings are ignored most of the year doesn’t mean there is healing. One of my favorite quotations is from John Powell who wrote “When you bury feelings, you bury them alive.” Maybe one of these suggestions may offer you some help for those times when you find yourself in situations where there are unresolved hurts.
Try to look at the situation from the other person’s point of view. We are human and all of us make mistakes.
Communicate with the other person and let him/her know you were hurt.
Consider the possibility that the person who said or did something hurtful might need help. Depression, alcoholism, and other problems can strike any family.
If you are the person who did the hurting, think about ho