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Home / Quotes / Forgive and Forget

Forgive and Forget

by Patricia Petro

open door“I can forgive, but I cannot forget” is only another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note—torn in two and burned up so that it never can be shown against one. —William Ward Beecher

The hatred you’re carrying is a live coal in your heart—far more damaging to yourself than to them. —Lawana Blackwell, The Dowry of Miss Lydia Clark, 1999

The cut worm forgives the plow. —William Blake

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. —Paul Boese

Take it slowly. The deepest resentments are wrapped up in a lot of hurt and pain. We think we’re protecting ourselves by not forgiving. Acknowledge that and go easy on yourself. Forgiveness means that you’ve decided not to let it keep festering inside even if it only comes up once in awhile. Forgiveness is a powerful yet challenging tool that will support and honor you, even in the most extreme circumstances. —Doc Childre and Howard Martin

Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass. —Confucius

The difference between holding on to a hurt or releasing it with forgiveness is like the difference between laying your head down at night on a pillow filled with thorns or a pillow filled with rose petals. —Loren Fischer

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. —Mahatma Ghandi

Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves! —Andre Gide

Imagine that every time you think about someone with anger or resentment, you are adding another fiber to the rope that ties you to them. The more energy we send someone, whether positive or negative, the greater our energetic connection. Forgiveness is “giving” up our resentment, dropping our end of that energetic tug of war and simply walking away. It’s the only way to truly be free. —Kajama

We may have thousands of blessings enriching our lives, but instead of focusing on all our good fortune, many of us will obsess over some perceived injustice that we feel was never made right. It doesn’t matter if it happened yesterday or twenty years ago. When we fixate on it, it still has the power to negate all that is presently good in our lives. It’s hard not to feel stung when someone hurts or disappoints us, but we don’t have to keep reliving that pain over and over. If the bee is long gone, any pain we experience as a result of its sting is self-inflicted. —Kajama 

When you find it hard to forgive, remember that deep down, everyone is a child. We all have big dreams and fears buried beneath our veneers of self-confidence and competency. We all wonder sometimes if we’re really lovable, if we’re really up to the challenge of making it in the world. —Kajama 

Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. —Anne Lamott

I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path . . . You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don’t have time to carry grudges; you don’t have time to cling to the need to be right. —Anne Lamott, The Washington Times

Sincere forgiveness isn’t colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don’t worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way. —Sara Paddison

There is a hard law . . . that when a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive. —Alan Paton

When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. —Catherine Ponder

Better by far you should forget and smile, than that you should remember and be sad. —Christina Rosetti

Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. —Rumi

The best words for resolving a disagreement are, “I could be wrong; I often am.” —Brian Tracy

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. —Mark Twain

To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee. —William Walton

It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes. It takes more gut and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed our own. —Jessamyn West

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength. —August Wilson

Ego wants to get and forget. Love wants to give and forgive. —Author Unknown

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