What is forgiveness?
It seems like an easy question, but it is not. It is undoubtedly a simple question, but it is not at all easy. When trying to answer that question I had to face thousands of definitions. Definitions such as:
To love is to never have to say sorry
, as if love were something for people who don't make mistakes. Where do we leave our humanity? Do I have to stop being human to love? I also found many requirements that make forgiveness inhumane. There were so many that in the end only a few benefit from forgiveness.
Finding a definition of what it really means to forgive, examining the different requirements to forgive and proposing something practical that helps forgive in depth, were the concerns that moved me to this project. I do not propose a single approach to forgiveness, but I do propose an alternative that frees us not to ask for forgiveness for existing. An alternative to begin to get rid of burdens that make us complicated.
What then is forgiveness? Here is my conclusion:
Forgiving is an act where we choose to
purify memory, invigorate the will,
overcome the difficulties of forgiving,
channel our feelings and
promote inner peace.