Things are not as linear as they might seem. I wish at times they were.

Sometimes I wish I could accumulate enough wisdom to be unharmed by life’s blows.

But challenges do like to stop by for tea rather often.

And they dress for the occasion.

They know how to throw a party.

And each unwanted and unexpected challenge can yield a lesson in the same way an oyster can yield a pearl from an uninvited grain of sand.

Resentment is an interesting characteristic that can hold your leash very tightly.

On the outside it makes you feel that you are protecting yourself by choosing between what’s right or wrong.

Resentment is an uncalibrated scale of justice. It’s us playing God.

A façade that masks your fear and pain momentarily and inefficiently.

Resentment creates scars around your heart.

It can potentially redefine the way you see things, making the world a less forgiving place.

Unfortunately there is no immediate clap of the hands and, voilà, goodbye resentment.

There is observation of our feelings. Our words. Our relationships. Our silences. Our thoughts.

Resentment diminishes every time that we look at our lives through the magnifying glass of compassion and forgiveness instead of the laser beam of pride and righteousness.

Why do I share this with you?

Because I don’t want you (and me of course) to waste time being resentful about things over which we have no control.

Because sometimes the person or situation that you feel has harmed you might no longer be there to dispute with you. And so the same song gets stuck on an eternal repeat.

Because love is too precious to be traded for resentment.

In a more forgiving world, our relationships nourish us because we are able to see through other’s scars to their underlying divinity.

And that recognition heals us both.

Easy? No.

Doable? You can be sure.

by Adrian Molina

Adrian Molina has been teaching yoga continuously since 2004. He is a well-known and respected instructor in Miami and New York, with an extensive worldwide following through his platform and school of yoga, Warrior Flow.