05-14-2011, 07:28 AM | #61 |
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Forgivness is something we have to come to terms with in our inner self. It is always dependent on your personal circumstances as for some people the reasons are different or more or less painful. I do not think its a negative to not want to embrace something that you haven't made your peace with yet, or may never make your peace with because the hurt is too great. I am a great believer in moving forward in life from the things that cause you harm or pain. But, that said, I struggle with forgiveness because I have a tendency to feel vindictive if I have been hurt badly or feel wronged by someone. That vindictiveness, I know is wrong and a huge part of my struggle in life has been to eliminate that from my personality. As a result, forgiveness comes slowly to me, but that does not mean it won't eventually come. There are some people I have wiped out of my life forever because the hurt was too great and the situation was not repairable. There are many things I have said to people that I wish I could have taken back. I think there are times when we have to go to those extremes in order to be able to move forward. But even though I've done those things, I was still always sad about the loss, the finality of making that decision and the knowledge that even if you forgive, your relationship with that person will never truly be the same because now its tainted in some way. As human beings, we do a lot of things to each other that are abusive, passive agressive, and ultimately unforgivable. I feel as an individual, you must move forward and put yourself in a place where you can heal and if for you that means either forgiving or not forgiving, then you must choose what you think will best serve that end.
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07-11-2011, 01:56 PM | #62 |
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I ran across this today - thought I'd share:
"There are three aspects to the Buddhist idea of patience: patience-persistence, patience-under-insult and acceptance-of-truth. The fourth is forgiveness...which in the Buddhist context is based more on Karma - the causal chain that's put into effect by your behavior. With karma, there is no external force or person or being that can intervene with your karma. There's nobody else responsible for your karma but you. So the idea of forgiveness of someone else is not as important as it is for you to do your own work. What forgiveness is really tied to in this context is releasing our anger we have toward others. When I forgive you, I am no longer going to hold anger toward you. I can't free you from your karma, you're still going to have to work this out for yourself in some way, but you know now I'm a safe person for you. I'm no longer going to hold my anger against you and make things difficult. One of the reason's it's so powerful to release our anger toward other people is that a healthy way to change the course of our own karma is to not hold onto anger." Gil Fronsdal, Audio Dharma podcast
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07-11-2011, 02:54 PM | #63 |
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I forgive you.
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07-11-2011, 03:30 PM | #64 |
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If someone genuinely asks for my forgiveness then there is a very high chance I will forgive. Things may not be the same between us- for example if someone cheated on me- but I can acknowledge their genuineness and sincerity. People do make mistakes all the time. I know I do. When this happens I do my best to apologize and learn from my mistakes.
In the case of someone treating me in an abusive, very hurtful, manipulative or some other unhealthy manner, those people don't tend to be asking for forgiveness so I am not sure why I would need to expend energy trying to forgive them. For some it is a way of healing and moving forward. For me if I feel I have been wronged or am in an unhealthy situation, I need to figure out how to move forward and not let toxic people influence my life as much as possible. Forgiving someone doesn't really have much to do with it. I can't control how unhealthy people are going to treat me. I need to figure out how to heal and feel good about myself again. I need to learn from my mistakes and use better judgement of who I will let into my life.
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07-11-2011, 03:38 PM | #65 |
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The way i feel about forgiveness is this:
It is actually a gift i give to myself when i forgive others. When i find that i want to forgive someone, it is not for them necessarily but for myself. It is the ease of the flow. I enjoy the positive of karma that it brings and the light out of the storm. Sometimes it is done at the deepest levels and sometimes it is just a surface forgiveness, if that makes sense. Either way it feels good and nurturing for myself, and that is always a healthy thing.
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07-11-2011, 03:47 PM | #66 | |
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Sometimes I wish I could do this more efficiently when I know that want to work through something with someone else that although we have had a rift, I want to make amends. I have had far too many people I cared about die (family & friends) to not realize that my moving through my faulty reasoning slowly has caused me to miss the opportunity to experience the gift forgiveness can be. |
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08-10-2012, 07:47 AM | #67 |
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Forgiveness
You must forgive yourself first then you can forgive another. I believe there would be fewer breakups if people could forgive each other.
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08-10-2012, 07:54 AM | #68 | |
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I absolutely agree with the break up statement. Forgiveness us such a raw emotion; you're baring your soul. If you can do that together, you still have the ability to move forward together. My .02
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08-10-2012, 08:04 AM | #69 |
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For me forgiveness is essential, a cornerstone. When I forgive I've opened the space for faith and trust (faith to me is trust mixed with hope).
Faith that I can handle where I am at. And faith comes from trust. Trust in myself and trust that another person can be who they are. I don't need to trust someone to "get" me. I trust and "get" myself. Forgiveness is wishing the same faith and trust for them as I have found/opened up to for myself. |
08-10-2012, 08:05 AM | #70 |
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Okay, so this may sound a little weird....but I don't believe in forgiveness. Not out of a "hanging onto anger" place, but just that I don't feel it's up to me. For me, saying "I forgive you" also implies, in a small way, that I have judged you and found you wanting.
When I have been hurt, I do my best to understand....understand what happened, understand my part in it, understand the other's part in it....and hopefully learn some lessons. Then, I stick it all in a mental/emotional box, tie a ribbon around it, and stick it in a deep, dark closet in my head. It's still there....and I can revisit it if I must, or if I choose to. Having said that....I grew up around angry, narcissistic, bullying people....and I never....ever....forget.
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08-10-2012, 08:11 AM | #71 | |
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Forgiveness includes letting go of responsibility to fix it for others and myself. I made a mistake, acted badly, hurt someone. I repair and acknowledge what I can and can't fix. |
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08-10-2012, 08:34 AM | #72 |
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Forgiving can be extremely difficult and for me learning to forgive myself was most difficult. But there is a peace and healing that comes from that.
Forgiving others is something else i had to learn...it too brings closure to me. i'm a Libra and as such crave balance. Forgiving myself and others helps bring that about. i've forgiven those who have hurt me over the years...this takes great strength and isn't always easy but it's far better than letting things fester. It also doesn't always mean that there is a resumption of friendship or relationship...for me that depends on what happened and/or the other party. It's also better for me when to be able to discuss the matter with the other party but that's not always possible for various reasons. If unable to talk with them i will write them a letter that i do not mail. Rather i get everything out on paper and either bury or burn it and scatter the ashes. Bringing it out into the light negates the darkness of the hurt/anger...burning or burying separates me from it and thus sets me free. i have some favorite quotations of the Dalai Lama i refer to daily: "If you harbor ill will, it has a negative impact on yourself." "The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful. This takes more than prayer or wishing. It requires deep analysis into the cause of harsh feelings like hatred and a conscious effort to shift perspective." "Compassion, forgiveness, these are the real, ultimate sources of power for peace and success in life." |
08-10-2012, 08:36 AM | #73 |
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If something happened or was said that was really really hurtful that would need forgiveness but I can't ever forget, not even over time, no matter how much I try, then for me there is no forgiveness either.
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08-10-2012, 08:55 AM | #74 | |
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08-10-2012, 09:17 AM | #75 | |
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Forgiveness comes when I can feel I've learned and the "hold" on me lessons. It (the event, what was said, etc.) becomes a memory, a moment in time, a touchstone a reminder of the lesson. Forgiveness is faith, trust that I've learned, let go of ill for myself or others, and moved on. If I can't forgive I can't move on. And I really want to continue my journey. |
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08-10-2012, 05:35 PM | #76 |
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Sometime forgiveness is about understanding. Perhaps understanding why you or someone else behaved/responded a certain way or didn't. Perhaps understanding that it just is what it is. I am suprised when I hear folks say they don't forgive. I wonder how they move forward. You can't just ignore or remove yourself from every situation or person in life who has wronged you. I guess in the same token you can't forgive everyone who has wronged you either.
I have to forgive or it eats me alive inside. This doesn't mean I'm satisfied with whatever the situation was. It just means that I have dealt with it on my end and I've come to an understanding of why I feel/felt the way I did in a given situation. As a person who believes in God, I feel it is my duty to find a way to forgive. If my God can forgive me when I fall short of His expectations, what makes me above that, that I wouldn't/shouldn't forgive. Especially when someone falls short of my expectations. That's on me isn't it. You can't set the bar of expectations at the same level for everyone. You lower that bar for some and don't expect as much out of them. Usually because you accept them like they are...flawed...you forgive their flaws. I'm sure I've said oh I'll never forgive so and so for this or that. Usually this would be before I've figured it out in my head and heart. However there are a few things I don't think I'd ever forgive someone for. Those would be horrible things. But I can't think of anything anyone has done or said to me personally that I couldn't find forgiveness for. A grudge is a heavy burden to carry. The road traveled is much less troublesome, carrying forgiveness than a heavy burden
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08-10-2012, 05:50 PM | #77 |
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I think I am harder on myself than I am with anyone that has ever done anything to hurt me over the years. It seems that the older I get, the harder it is to forgive myself because half the time I know better, but I continue to LET people do things that hurt me.
I try to remember to be kind to myself about it and that it is more important for me to forgive myself than to forgive the person that did it.....I gotta live with myself, and I usually put separation between me and the people that hurt me anyway. It doesn't mean I don't forgive them...I just choose not to let them in my hula hoop ever again.
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08-10-2012, 08:17 PM | #78 |
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It took a long time...
But, I have learned not to carry around negative stuff from others and what they've done to me. It weighs too heavy on me. I am pretty hard on myself, so I don't need extra stuff.
I do get mad, hurt, angry, etc...I will yell, hurt, cry, whatever...when I get that out, I am ready to work on it...forgive it and then release it. I don't need it to hinder me. And if I expect forgiveness for stuff I've done directly or indirectly to others, I need to forgive, as well. No, it's not easy. It's a process obviously, but it does happen. And I'm grateful--because I understand that I shouldn't ask for something that I wouldn't do for others. Fair is fair. That's just me.
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08-10-2012, 08:28 PM | #79 |
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forgiveness
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08-10-2012, 09:14 PM | #80 |
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If I can imagine doing something myself, then I can forgive. If I can't imagine ever doing such a thing, if it is out of my ken, then it takes me much longer to forgive, and sometimes I never do. I let it go and forget about it. But if something comes along to remind me, I'll frown remembering.
Even if the motivation is something I can relate to, for example anxiety or fear, if I know that I would never have acted out in that way, then I struggle with forgiveness. |
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