Do We Still Forgive Them Even When They Are Not Sorry?
Forgiveness is hard enough as it is
Being betrayed hurts. Broken promises hurt. So do being abused and neglected, and sometimes it hurts more when the people responsible for your pain aren’t even sorry. Thus we struggle to forgive such people.
Why should we forgive them when they’re not sorry and would probably do it again?
I once strongly felt people who do not show remorse do not deserve forgiveness. Yet, the advice we often get is that forgiveness is good for you too. That it’s necessary to enable you to stop playing victim and move on from the experience.
We can however, draw a line between forgiving and forgetting. I also invent ways to keep a healthy distance so people do not get the chance to hurt me again. But this may not always be practicable.
What is forgiveness?
It means you make conscious choices to let go of negative feelings like hatred and vengeance against those who hurt you. You do this regardless of whether they deserve it, or even asked for it.
“Forgiveness is me giving up on my right to hurt you for hurting me.”–Anonymous
