Ever wonder what life would be like if our family and friends never forgave us for the mistakes we commit? Take a moment to reflect on your own life. Think hard about it. What images do you see more often? Do you see yourself apologizing more or waiting for an apology? Now try to forget about all of those times when you felt someone else should have been asking you for forgiveness but did not come around to it.
Forget about all of those times when you felt you deserved an apology but one was not forthcoming. This is not about everyone else, it is about you. It is about you making an intentional decision, a deliberate choice to internalize forgiveness as a way of life.
What is forgiveness?
All of us, at one point or another in our lives, have had an experience that frustrated us, made us upset, resentful, or angry. The sources of difficulty might have been, among so many possibilities, the words or actions of a family member or friend, or the words or actions of a stranger. Based on the intensity of the pain or harm we perceive from such difficult moments or incidents, we sometimes find that it is not possible for us to move on, to overlook, or to look past the pain or hurt. Even worse, we sometimes find it impossible to resume normal interactions with the individual or individuals who have caused us pain.
Forgiveness is the subsiding and ultimate elimination of feelings of anger, frustration, and resentment toward the individual or individuals who have caused us pain, followed by a resumption of normal interactions with the individual or individuals concerned. Ultimately, forgiving a person wipes away the active memory of whatever pain or hurt caused the rift to begin with.