Forgiveness Is a Superpower

The alternatives to forgiveness are well known—punishment, retribution, vengeance and the holding of grudges and resentment. History is filled with a sad and toxic brew of these things between individuals, tribes and nations.

It is said to forgive is to forget and there is some truth to that but true forgiveness goes further than that. It has to, because as much as we’d like to, we can’t always selectively forget an experience, especially a traumatic one that has been etched into our minds. There are also many cases where our very existence is threatened or that of our loved ones or fellow citizens and so absolute forgiveness and inaction in that moment could be a form of suicide or weakness that could spell doom. So it gets complicated. Yet still, we have many more opportunities to apply forgiveness than we take.

Besides trauma, one may also harbor (rightfully or not) deep feelings of being wronged or even some type of resentment that is a sum total of numerous wrongs that have built up over time. These are the feelings that so many can carry with them to the grave as unresolved. Forgiveness is a spiritual skill that allows one to resolve these feelings with the power of Love. Love has the ability to transcend the mundane and to help us see life as a beautiful whole, imperfections and all. It allows us to see others not as only the adults they became, but the innocent…