A collection of inspirational wisdom, sayings and quotes on forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not about condoning another's hurtful actions, it is about releasing your negative emotions and perceptions about the painful events. Otherwise you keep yourself chained to those events or people - you keep it alive within you - and you carry it with you where-ever you go. It is a very heavy burden to carry around and you end up crippling yourself emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically.
Holding on to anger, resentment, etc. keeps you in 'victim' mode - powerless. It means you are letting those people who have hurt you in the past dictate who you are in the present moment. You can take your power back by releasing these negative emotions and no longer let them hold sway over your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Only you are responsible for what you do, think and feel. You can choose to hold on to painful events, like a weight around your neck, or you can choose to remove that burden by releasing it (giving it no more emotional energy and therefore power) and living a happier life despite past circumstances. In other words... let the past be in the past, and live in the now moment. You can't change what happened in the past, but you have choice over how you live now.
When you assume responsibility for what you experience
and share what you experience in a spirit of companionship,
that is the same as forgiveness.
When you hold someone responsible for what you experience,
you lose power.
~ Gary Zukav - from "Seat Of The Soul" ~
The act of forgiveness is the act of returning to present time.
And that's why when one has become a forgiving person,
and has managed to let go of the past,
what they've really done is they've shifted their relationship with time.
~ Caroline Myss ~
Unforgiveness is the poison you drink every day
hoping that the other person will die.
~ Debbie Ford ~
He who is devoid of the power to forgive
is devoid of the power to love.
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) ~
When you are offended at any man's fault,
turn to yourself and study your own failings.
Then you will forget your anger.
~ Epictetus ~
To hate another is to hate yourself.
We all live within the one Universal Mind.
What we think about another, we think about ourselves.
If you have an enemy, forgive him now.
Let all bitterness and resentment dissolve.
You owe your fellow man love; show him love, not hate.
Show charity and goodwill toward others
and it will return to enhance your own life
in many wonderful ways.
~ Brian Adams (from 'How To Succeed') ~
If we let go of things, our life is going to change.
And the reality is that we are actually more afraid of change than we are of death.
~ Caroline Myss ~
Resolve your emotion
and move on.
~ Author Unknown ~
‘If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light.
Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness,
selfishness, and fears.’
~ Glenn Clark, Author ~
Forgiveness is not a moral issue.
It is an energy dynamic...
Forgiveness means that you do not carry the baggage of an experience.
When you choose not to forgive,
the experience that you do not forgive sticks with you.
When you choose not to forgive,
it is like agreeing to wear dark, gruesome sunglasses that distort everything,
and it is you who are forced every day
to look at life through those contaminated lenses
because you have chosen to keep them.
~ Gary Zukav from 'The Seat Of The Soul ~
A loving person lives in a loving world,
A hostile person lives in a hostile world,
Everyone you meet is your mirror.
~ Ken Keyes, Jr (from 'Handbook of Higher Consciousness') ~
The practice of forgiveness is our most important
contribution to the healing of the world.
~ Marianne Williamson ~
Wisdom Quotes about Forgiveness