Exhale: Mindful Forgiveness

Step One: Pick up a small rock in your non-dominant hand. Hold it throughout this exercise.

Step Two: Take a walk and find a quiet place to sit. While you stroll, identify feelings of regret, guilt, or hurt for your or another’s unintentionally biased behavior. What did you or they do? What was the impact?

Step Three: Write a forgiveness letter to the person/people your biased behavior hurt or were hurt by - state what you or the offender should have done differently. *Note, you aren’t going to send this letter, it’s for you only.

•If writing to the offender, end the letter with an explicit statement of forgiveness, understanding, and even empathy, if you can muster it.

•If writing to the offended, end the letter with an explicit statement thanking them for understanding and forgiving you.

Step Four: The stone represents the burden of unforgiveness. Examine the stone. Think about how the stone hindered or enhanced your performance during this activity.

Step Five: On your way back to class, stop at the edge of the river. Take a deep inhale; as you exhale, release the stone into the river and intentionally choose to forgive yourself or others.