Definition Essay Forgiveness

Forgiveness After Adversity Adversity shapes our character; forgiveness plays a huge part in it. If we are able to forgive, then the way people look at you can be changed, whether it is good or bad. You have to be able to understand and know what someone else is feeling. I think that many people have experienced adversity and some have been able to choose forgiveness as a path to shape their character. Forgiveness isn’t an easy option for most people, but it does work for others.

Forgive today, live in peace tomorrow. Forgiveness; one of the many hardships we encounter throughout life. As Marianne Williamson, an American author, stated, “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” Forgiveness leads to peace because it lets go of all the negative feelings and allows freedom from disturbance to take place.

Forgiveness is very important throughout life. If people don't forgive, they are going to be stuck in the past always remembering about the mistake that person did. Forgiving someone can make yourself feel better because you know you forgave that person and there's no negativity between you and that person.

Hesburgh explains, “My whole instinct is to forgive. Perhaps that is because I am a Catholic priest. In a sense, I am in the forgiving business… I think of God as the great forgiver of sinful humanity” (169). Prager further explains these religious divides, “It is only meant to explain why to Jews it is so patently obvious that it is morally wrong to forgive a man who has burned families alive, and to Christians it is equally obvious that one ought to” (230). Buddhism also argues for forgiveness as well. Ricard states, “For a Buddhist, forgiveness is always possible and one should always forgive” (235). Lastly, there is an argument that without forgiveness it is difficult to move on to the future. Tutu succinctly states, “Without forgiveness, there is no future.”

Also, understanding is the key to forgive someone regrets his immoral acts against you. The story of Albert Speer reveals the sorrow and compassion of one of the culprit find himself face to face with a victim. Mr. Albert was supporting the Nazis against Jews during the Holocaust. He acknowledged his responsibility and guilt for the mass crime. With the guilty verdict, he imprisoned for twenty years for his legal inhuman acts. When Simon Wiesenthal met him, Albert considered his eyes to find compassion and humanity inside (The Sunflower 246). Thus, I believe that when victim lets down the revenge, he also removes most of the barriers for a substantial correction. In the meantime, if you forgive, you can stop the stupidity of haters and prove that you are much stronger. Besides the world has a lot of evidence proclaiming that the desire for revenge disappears even after a long time of reciprocal violence, but only the people who forgive are the last standing. Overall, to forgive is to build bridges between victims and culprits for a healthy

The bible teaches Christians to forgive in order to receive forgiveness. People often retaliate for wrongs suffered by not forgiving. However, researchers are discovering that not forgiveness can lead to health problems.

Life has ups and downs, it may stab you in the back, but it’s a choice to forgive and forget about it. Forgiveness is something that helps people move on. For every person, the word forgiveness has a different meaning, for me it means leaving behind actions from my past. Personally, I like to think that forgiveness is a way to start over whether in a friendship or in life. If the opportunity presented itself to me to explain the word, forgiveness, to someone I would simply reply that it is the idea of setting yourself free from all the hate one has been holding.

To begin with, forgiving people who wronged you comes in handy since it helps you live a longer and healthier life. According to the informational text “Understanding Forgiveness” written by PBS, it states that people who forgive have “ [f]ewer stress-related health issues” and their

Forgiveness is a voluntary process and only time can heal all wounds. Scratch that- time won’t heal all wounds and forgiving someone is totally and completely up to you. When stating that forgiveness is “voluntary,” it simply means that one is forgiving someone at their own free will. The question is “why? why must we forgive someone after doing something so awful?” The answer might be complex. In the book “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton and Erin Torneo, and in the book “Beauty for Ashes” written by Joyce Meyer, forgiveness is portrayed as a big role. Each person goes through their own struggles and eventually has to forgive someone or be forgiven by someone.

2. According to the article, forgiveness is granting unconditionally grace to those who have cause suffering and pain and accepting what they did and not letting that affect the love they show to that person. Forgiveness is central for racial reconciliation because forgiveness is the first step of mending the relationship with others. It also allows God to do a work between the two groups. When there is forgiveness God can change hearts and create amazing things to happen out of tragedies.

This in turn leads to the idea in which forgiveness is a cancellation of a debt and the offended party no longer expects repayment for the pain caused (Pettigrove, 2012). Additionally, forgiveness is the release of bitterness or anger as an effect of an apparent offense while ceasing to demand punishment (Pettigrove, 2012). Furthermore, it begins by accepting what has happened and choosing to let go by making a decision to forgive and love the offender by canceling the debt (Pettigrove, 2012). Likewise, it releases judgement as well as thoughts of revenge or ill-will to the one who caused harm while resuming some form of a relationship with those who caused the hardship (Pettigrove, 2012). What is more, it is taking the responsibility for one’s own feelings while taking back control of one’s life instead of allowing those feelings complete control (Pettigrove, 2012). Finally, it allows God the room to move and work within our lives as He begins to heal the brokenness.

Forgiveness helps us feel light and helps us get rid of hard feelings that occupy our mind and heart and eat away our peace of mind. Forgiveness is a way to self-fulfillment. People who can readily forgive others are much more responsible and satisfied inside than those who keep grudges against others and develop feelings of enmity. Those who forgive help create positive energy on this planet. In the article “Forgiveness Towards Others” by Charu B shae states “Our grudges will only affect the relationship with the person and not hurt the other person in any way.”

Forgiveness is what holds and brings relationships together. If you stay angry for long, your heart stubbornly hardens. But if you choose to forgive, you will be filled with the grace of God. We are all sinners and should never carry a

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” This quote by Mahatma Gandhi describes the character it takes to forgive an individual of wrongdoing. Forgiveness results in multiple positive outcomes for both the forgiver and the the person being forgiven. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Keating’s “I Forgave the Man Who Shot Me” and Bettencourt's “Triumph of the Heart” discuss the importance of forgiveness in terms of moving on, freeing someone of guilt and finding happiness.

When I change my thoughts and forgive I am able to move on and take these negative experiences and turn them into a positive by knowing I learned a life lesson and I am able to grow from those who have hurt me. Some people think that forgiveness is a sign of weakness, when in reality it is empowering because you do not give them the power to control you.