Forgiveness is the topic today...

A theme that came up in conversation yesterday, with my friend Rowan. Now, we were discussing whether forgiveness was a felling or an action and whether they could be seperate. Where Nath said that it might be possible to say it and not mean it, but grow to accept it.

So i thought i would dig around and see what the wise had to say about the subject.

"I can forgive, but not forget; is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shhown against one."
Henry Ward Beecher

I like this in theory, but i dont think you can necassarily forget something that has happened, and remembering the past is often important. I think its about loosing the emotional attachment to the actions in the past, allows you to remember the past, but without ever having to bring it up to the people involved and removing the hurt from both [or more] parties.

What i like about this most is the fact that it is about cancelling the actions of the past. Sometimes sorry isn't enough but forgiveness is. And you should only ever punish someone once, for their actions, if at all, as they will be punishing themselves (guilt) should they be a reasonable person and realise they were in the wrong.


There are a great many quotes out there about forgiving enemies;


"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names"
John. F. Kennedy

"Always forgive your enemies, Nothing annoys them so much"
Oscar Wilde

"He who has not forgiven an enemy has not yet tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life."
Johann Lavater

I'm not sure quite that enemies as such would be created or kept with forgiveness. I do however like the following quotation about forgiveness.


"Many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while both parties came prepared to forgive, neither party came prepared to be forgiven."
Charles Williams - close friend and mentor to C.S.Lewis & J.R.R Tolkien.