I was listening to an interview with Yo-Yo Ma today, during which he said something that stopped my walk and made me rewind the podcast:

“Forgiveness is incredibly important because if I let myself get upset, I then get out of the zone.” – Yo-Yo Ma on ReThinking with Adam Grant

While Ma was describing playing music, his point is clear and relevant to us on the Hero’s Journey. A Journey has so many demons and roadblocks and tests and trials, if I can do anything to reduce the load I carry with me, I can move along more quickly. I can stay focused.

I’ve heard it said many times that we forgive for ourselves — not for the person who wronged us. I struggled to connect with this idea, but I worked on it a lot. This now–put this way–makes sense to me. The anger is a distraction. The replay of the hurt is a delay. The goal of my Journey is blocked when “I been wronged” is still in the way.

We all need to add forgiveness to our What to Pack for a Hero’s Journey.

Photo by Yan Krukau