What is forgiveness? The word itself comes from the Latin “perdonare” which means “to give completely, without reservation.” I suppose that is true but that seems to simple for something that is so incredibly difficult. I see forgiveness as the need to untie yourself from that which binds you to an offense that was committed against you. In forgiving we release the feelings that hold sway over up allowing us to shed the emotional baggage can had hold us back.
It is so easy to become tangled in a mess of bitterness and resentment that swells to the point that it becomes hard to even remember how it began. It is sometimes hard to see that forgiveness is not the same as condoning negative behavior, nor is it the a synonym for forgetting. Rather, it is a decision to allowing positive energy hold greater sway in your life, and while forgiveness can ultimately lead to feelings for compassion for the one who hurt you, I think that it is and should be done for self first and foremost.
It is never easy for me to forgive but it is as important to my spiritual practice and wellbeing (two aspects of my life that I see as one) as the practice of compassion. How to I find the capacity to forgive within myself? That normally takes solitude on my part, often I find I have to forgive actions within my own heart before I can find enough positivity to allow myself to pardon another. Oddly enough it is easier for me to find and feel compassion for a person who hurt me long before I find forgiveness.
How about you? Is forgiveness important in your life? Why?