Today we are blessed to have access to a vast amount of knowledge and information, which is available to us almost instantaneously. It would come to be no surprise then, that many of us have had exposure to wide variety of topics and viewpoints throughout our life.

Forgiveness is a topic that heals and renews.

Most likely, forgiveness is something we have all heard about, at some point in our life. To forgive is defined as “to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense or mistake.”

Forgiveness is something that we have all grappled with (and will continue to) since we are living in a world, with imperfect human beings. Whether we are young or old, we are going to be faced with difficult and testing situations that end with injustice and offense.

It is only natural for anger to arise from injustice, since it is the passion to set things straight. Nonetheless, we have to make sure that the anger is ordered toward a future solution-not allowing it to overtake us with the desire of revenge.

Before we go any further, I would like to say that I feel unworthy to be writing such an article. I am an imperfect human being with many faults. If at any point in the last 17 years we have crossed paths and I have hurt you in anyway, I am truly sorry. My goal of writing this article is to share my thoughts on this topic, in hope that it may help at least one person to choose the path of forgiveness in their life.

Oftentimes it is very easy for us to find faults in those around us, but harder to find them in ourselves. For me, when I look at my own shortcomings it helps me to forgive others more easily. This is because for many years in my life I would wrongly place most of the blame on others, leaving far too little on myself. When I see how imperfect I am, I realize I need to have the same (or more) amount of mercy towards those around me.

I realize that there are some people who have had to endure a lot in their life and feel as if they could not possibly forgive the person for their offense. It could be the loss of a loved one due to a drunk driver, sexual abuse, lack of love from a parent, et cetera. While I do not have firsthand experience with any of the above, I do know others who have.

The essential point I learned from them was to “take a look through their eyes.”

Meaning, when they looked through the eyes of the perpetrator, they usually discovered a wound in the perpetrators life. This in no way excuses the actions of the person, but merely allows some room for compassion to enter into the situation.

Forgiveness will take time. This is because forgiveness and anger go hand in hand. You cannot forgive someone if you do not feel resentment from their offense.

Forgiveness is a personal decision made from the heart with love, for the purpose of letting go of anger and resentment, in order to will the good of another.

At the end of the day, forgiveness is a choice and it is up to us to decide our path.

If we choose to forgive, it will heal and renew us.