The Roses of Prose: Leap into the Knight

Monday, January 19, 2015

Each New Day Starts With Forgiveness with Guest Blogger, M.J. Schiller

I'm happy to turn over my spot today to a good friend and great author, M.J. Schiller. M.J. is using our monthly theme for her post, and I think you'll find it quite interesting...take it away, M.J. (Aren't her covers magnificent?)

Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? ~ L.M. Montgomery

What a hopeful thought! One we need to make a mantra, at times. Especially me. I’m one of those annoying people pleasers, rule followers, I want to do everything well and the right way. My mom used to tell me, “A job worth doing is worth doing right,” and it appears that I have taken that to heart.

When I was in junior high I was a synchronized swimmer. I had an unusual talent that was useful to the team. I was a really loud underwater screamer. I know. Jealous, aren’t you? It was my job to scream and signal the others when it was time to do certain moves. At the end of the season we had one of those awards celebrations where we got goofy little certificates. Mine had something to do with “the only person she’s harder on than her teammates is herself.” Hmm. Kind of a backhanded compliment, huh? I was an uptight, straight-A student. There was no room for mistakes, from me, or anyone.

Luckily the years have mellowed me some. But I still tend to go over my actions and conversations at the end of the day and think, “I could have said that better,” or “I never should have done that,” or, “If I had only done this…” That’s a hard way to live.

This idea that each new day is a fresh start is a lifesaver for people like me who tend to be self-critical. Okay, so maybe I was a little rude tonight by texting my daughter while out with the neighbors. But my daughter needed help and I was trying to be a good mother. My friends will forgive me. And even if they don’t, I need to forgive myself, and then learn from my mistakes. I need to forge on in my brand new day, do the best I can, and forgive myself at the end of this day so that I can start over each day anew.

Does anyone else have this problem? Do you tend to beat yourself up over mistakes you make? Or have you learned to forgive yourself and move forward?

Maggie, from my new sci-fi romance, LADY OF THE KNIGHT, has a hard time forgiving herself for a decision she makes while under enormous pressure. Should she betray the man she loves in order to save him? LADY OF THE KNIGHT is the second in my ROMANTIC KNIGHTS TRILOGY.