Why forgiveness heals

Oasis

To err is human, but to forgive is divine. This saying has been instilled into our minds right from childhood. In fact, in school, we had to write an essay on this topic. Scriptures and holy texts, through stories, have extolled the virtues of forgiveness, while grandparents, parents and teachers have also tried to inculcate this attitude in us.

Put simply, forgiving someone is liberating the two people involved, from a host of negativity. The one who forgives is letting go of all the ill-feelings, resentments and grudges they carry in their heart, towards the people who have wronged them. Once these negative emotions are thrown out, the person feels lighter and at peace.

The person who is forgiven also benefits, as they have just been unshackled from the long chains of guilt and shame, that held them responsible for things that went wrong in other people’s lives.

Forgiving takes us closer to God. To truly forgive is to let go of the past with all its trauma and troubles that have weighed us down. Doesn’t a journey with less luggage help us move forward with ease? It also grants us the freedom to enjoy the scenery and take some mental pictures of the wonderful things we encounter on the way.

I was always told that when you throw away the objects that you don’t need, you make more room for objects that you enjoy and those that bring happiness in your life. Doesn’t the same rule apply to emotions? When we let go of emotions that are not conducive to our growth, we make more place for emotions that fill our hearts with happiness and bliss. Unnecessary baggage has just one purpose, weighing us down and slowing our own progress and creating obstacles in our path.

If it’s not possible to forgive, then we should embrace its sister — who comes in the form of forgetting. By forgetting, we wipe the slate of our mind clean of all the negative feelings and emotions it clings to.