Words to Live By: Forgiveness
Presented without comment, here is a collection of quotes on the topic of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is acknowledging the validity of our feelings
and then making a commitment to ourselves to release
the hold those emotions have over us.
from The Great Work by Tiffany Lazic
"The Chinese have a different relationship with their gods
than any of the one-god religions," he remarked.
"Chinese gods do not require adoration.
They would not know what to do with it.
They do not forgive sins."
"Then what are they for?" asked Phyrne, lighting a cigarette.
"They take care of things which they are required to take care of," he replied.
from The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
Through self-examination, any amends we need to make with others,
forgiveness of those who have hurt us, and forgiveness of our own mistakes,
we free ourselves from the past and create a genuine future.
from Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings by Rachel Pollack
Forgiveness does not mean that we have to continue
to be in relationship with the other. If we were hurting through the actions
of an unsafe person, then we absolutely need to know how
to put appropriate boundaries in place.
But we do not have to carry the spirit-crushing energy
of pain behind those boundaries.
Forgiveness is trusting ourselves enough to know that we
have the tools within us to not be hurt again.
from The Great Work by Tiffany Lazic
"Love me, then, or hate me, as you will,"
I said at last,
"you have my full and free forgiveness:
ask now for God's, and be at peace."
from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“Time heals all wounds, say the complacent,
but I think it is not so much time that does
it as determination of the spirit.
And the spirit can often turn to devil in the darkness.”
from The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier
"Forgiveness is never about another person.
It is all about ourselves, making it one of the most powerful forms of self-healing.
The act of forgiveness is an intentional act of self-love."
from Pathworking the Tarot by Leeza Robertson
"To forgive is to put oneself in a larger gravitational field of experience
than the one that first seemed to hurt us.
We reimagine ourselves in the light of our maturity
and we reimagine the past in the light of our new identity,
we allow ourselves to be gifted by a story larger
than the story that first hurt us and left us bereft"
from Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte
"Forgiveness is an act of generosity.
It requires that we place releasing someone else from the prison
of their guilt or anguish over our feelings of outrage or anger.
By forgiving we clear a path on the way to love. It is a gesture of respect.
True forgiveness requires that we understand the negative actions of another."
- from all about love: new visions by bell hooks
