Seek Forgiveness
All of us deserve to Forgiveness when we are sincere in our heart.
Offer Forgiveness
There is no greater gift on this planet than the gift of Forgiveness.
Help Someone In Need
Many of us just don’t know how to go about seeking or offering Forgiveness.
Why Forgiveness?
Physically, forgiveness creates a higher quality of life, a healthier body, and a more positive attitude. It can reduce anger, bitterness, resentment and depression. Spiritually, forgiveness affirms what our faith usually requires of us and, therefore, helps us live a life of integrity. Socially, forgiveness reduces anger and resentment and often leads to an improvement in personal relationships with family, friends and community.
According to Duke University, Univ. of Tennessee, and Stanford University, “Holding onto hurts, grudges, annoyances, pet peeves or old wounds hurts the body, especially when the memories are triggered by current life events.” They confirmed a physiological link between negative emotional states like revengeful thinking and actions and how it produces stress on the body. They found that stress from revenge or hateful thoughts also lowers the immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to illness and asserts that, “People who are able to forgive can actually modify their heart rate, lower their blood pressure, decrease physical pain and even relieve their depression.”
Socially, forgiveness reduces anger and resentment and often leads to an improvement in personal relationships with family, friends and community. Forgiveness has a way of cutting through our anger, disappointment and resentment to give everyone involved a fresh start. As you forgive, you are set free from the prison of resentment. Forgiving liberates us. Only forgiveness liberates us from a painful past to a brand-new future. At the same time, those around us benefit because we are less likely to carry our anger into other situations. We are less likely to displace our anger onto those who don’t deserve such treatment.
Next Steps Toward Forgiveness…
Dr. Robert Enright, founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, has created a pathway to forgiveness that can help you forgive if you willingly choose to do so.