Forgiveness is Everything

I opened my Bible to a 'random' page and found these verses:

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." -Mat 18:21-22

The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offence or debt'.

We have been hurt or abused or insulted and we want the whole world to know this and above everything, we want justice. Restorative Justice. So we strike back, we plot revenge, or even worse, we simmer in bitterness. And this makes the situation even worse, leaving us in a vicious circle of pain and resentment.

Buddhism questions the reality of the passions that make forgiveness necessary as well as the reality of the objects of those passions. "If we haven’t forgiven, we keep creating an identity around our pain, and that is what is reborn. That is what suffers."

Forgiveness is a bridge to healing and total recovery. It's the last step of the grieving process which unfortunately tends to be longer for us adults who, for some reason, have lost this childlike ability to grant true, genuine and free forgiveness seconds after having been offended.

It's up to you to decide whether you want to forgive or not, but keep in mind that forgiveness is first and foremost an act of (spiritual, emotional and physical) liberation and a gift you give yourself. It means freeing yourself from your past and moving on with your life a lighter and stronger person.

On that note, I think there is a reason why I stumbled upon this particular Bible verse :)..and I'll make sure I keep that in mind.