Apologies are magic. They are the play button when a relationship has been paused. Interrupted. Broken. An apology can bridge that distance, span that cleavage, heal that break, and start that song, again.

Yes. I just quoted myself.

I’m sorry.

I say that a lot. I’m impetuous, impulsive and have a tongue faster than my “stop! Red Alert! THAT’S RUDE!” instinct.

I may not in fact have that instinct.

So I keep “I’m sorry” notecards on hand.  Like this:

I keep this card on-hand. Just in case.

Since I find that I need to apologize – frequently – I’m mildly obsessed with how best to apologize. How to apologize right. How not to apologize. How to say you’re sorry, mean it, and have it heard – and accepted.

Or not.

Because sometimes forgiveness is a gift you don’t deserve.

But what a soul-lightening joy it is to give.

for-give-ness

for-giving

for-give-in

Given this preoccupation, I might have written about how to apologize mo’ better, once or twice.

OR I might have written an entire series on it.

Yeah, I did. I wrote about apologies from angles – how to say you’re sorry, how NOT to, why to, why you don’t have to accept an apology but how amazing it is to be forgiven, and so on and so on.

If you’ve ever needed to apologize – or think you might need to at some point – or are waiting for an apology (I was), or even dreading an apology (me too!), then this series is for you.

Here it is.

The Sorry Series – How To Apologize, How NOT to Apologize, and the Power of Forgiveness

On Harm, Healing, Ceilings and How Absent Apologies are the Pits – The Sorry Series, #1

A Child’s How-To Guide for Heart-felt Apologies and Chris Brown’s Example of How-Not-To-Apologize. OOPS. – The Sorry Series, #2

Guest Post by Josh Hanagarne: Three Lame Types Of Apologies – The Sorry Series, #3

How To Receive an Apology. How To Accept an Apology. How To Forgive. Or Maybe Not. – The Sorry Series, #4

The Forgiven, The Sorry Series #5

It is okay NOT to teach people how to treat you. Unless they were raised by wolves. Then Cold Play or a quick exit is in order. Your call. *

*not really part of the series but I do make a wildly necessary apology in it