Forgiving gives the power to heal and go forward. By forgiving with heart and mind, we take ourselves back. Fully present, we live compassionately and well.

Kinds of forgiveness:

• Death bed > Picturing the wrong doer weakened and at the end of life 
• Jaws of Life > Free from the grip of others’ actions
• Family gathering / business meeting > making peace to serve another
• Rain slicker > Protection from the words and deeds of others

Tools of forgiveness

• Compassion for those who hurt us
• Freeing ourselves 
• Allowing healing to take place
• Not needing to get even
• Compassion for our injured, former self
• Seeing our actions through another’s eyes 
• Letting go of a need to be right
• Keeping safe
• Not giving up on a friend

Quotations

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

— Nelson Mandela

Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace. 

— Tolstoy

Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.

— Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.