Holding on to resentment in order to get someone back is the equivalent of drinking poison, and hoping they will die. —Anonymous
If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. —Bhagavad Gita
Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. —Mahatma Gandhi
What could you want that forgiveness cannot give? Do you want peace? Forgiveness offers it. Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, a certainty of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world? Do you want care and safety, and the warmth of sure protection always? Do you want a quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never can be hurt, a deep abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset? All this forgiveness offers you and more. —The Course in Miracles
Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help heal someone’s soul. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. —Jalaladdin Rumi
Forgiveness is forgetting, in spite of remembering. —Dag Hammerskjold
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life is an adventure in forgiveness. —Norman Cousins
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. —Mark Twain
Forgiveness and reconciliation are not just ethereal, spiritual, other-worldly activities. They have to do with the real world. They are realpolitik, because in a very real sense, without forgiveness, there is no future. —Archbishop Desmond Tutu
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. —Martin Luther King
If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive. —Mother Teresa
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. —Luke 23
When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotion that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. —Catherine Ponder
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. —Paul Boese
Forgiveness is giving up the possibility of a better past. —Anonymous
Some tension is necessary for the soul to grow, and we can put that tension to good use. We can look for every opportunity to give and receive love, to appreciate nature, to heal our wounds and the wounds of others, to forgive, and to serve. —Joan Borysenko
Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is an attitude. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. —Dr. King
Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace. —Leo Tolstoy
For ’tis sweet to stammer one letter of the Eternal’s language; on earth it is called Forgiveness! —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
There is a manner of forgiveness so divine that you are ready to embrace the offender for having called it forth. —John Caspar Lavater
It is right that man should love those who have offended him. He will do so when he remembers that all men are his relations, and that it is through ignorance and involuntarily that they sin—and then we all die so soon. —Marcus Aurelius
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world. —Marianne Williamson
We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy and doubt, that peace and abundance may manifest for all. —Dorothy Day
Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves. —Thich Nhat Hanh
You know you have forgiven someone when he or she has harmless passage through your mind. —Rev. Karyl Huntley
Forgiveness is primarily for our own sake, so that we no longer carry the burden of resentment. But to forgive does not mean we will allow injustice again. —Jack Kornfield
At a certain point, we forgive because we decide to forgive. Healing occurs in the present, not in the past. We are not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present. —Marianne Williamson
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee
And I’ll forgive Thy great big one on me. —Robert Frost
Keep to forgiveness, and enjoin kindness. —Qur’an 7:199-200
I grant forgiveness to all living beings. May all living beings grant me forgiveness. My friendship is with all living beings. My enmity is totally nonexistent. —Jain prayer
May the whole Cosmos be blessed. May all beings engage in each other’s well being. May all weakness, sickness and faults diminish and vanish. May everyone and everywhere be healthy, prosper, blissful, and peaceful. —Jain prayer
Take it slowly. The deepest resentments are wrapped up in a lot of hurt and pain. We think we’re protecting ourselves by not forgiving. Acknowledge that and go easy on yourself. Forgiveness means that you’ve decided not to let it keep festering inside even if it only comes up once in awhile. Forgiveness is a powerful yet challenging tool that will support and honor you, even in the most extreme circumstances. —Doc Childre and Howard Martin, The HeartMath Solution
The incoherence that results from holding on to resentments and unforgiving attitudes keeps you from being aligned with your true self. It can block you from your next level of quality life experience. Metaphorically, it’s the curtain standing between the room you’re living in now and a new room, much larger and full of beautiful objects. The act of forgiveness removes the curtain. Clearing up your old accounts can free up so much energy that you jump right into a whole new house. Forgiving releases you from the punishment of a self-made prison where you are both the inmate and the jailer. —Doc Childre and Howard Martin, The HeartMath Solution
Sincere forgiveness isn’t colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don’t worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time—just like it does for you and me. —Sara Paddison, Hidden Power of the Heart
Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. —Marianne Williamson
It is not necessarily true that emotional healing has to take a very long time. An effective process for forgiveness is the key. —Dr. Edith Stauffer, PhD, LP
The experience of facilitating true forgiveness for someone is inspiring! We use a reliable forgiveness method to produce an ever-fresh miracle: the palpable release of a heavy emotional burden and the liberation of the shining human spirit. —Mary Hayes Grieco
