Speaking of Forgiveness

The burden of hate, of resentment, of guilt, of anger, of being a victim, is too heavy to bear. The journey of life demands that we travel light. There is only so much that we can carry; any extra burden weighs us down. And most hurts of the past have today become irrelevant; they have no meaning, no existence, except what we hold on to, in our mind. If someone hurt us in the past, someone insulted us many years ago, what is the relevance of that today? And if that person happens to be dead, what is the use of holding on to the hurt? There is no way that we can get an apology from a dead person. And yet, that is exactly what we do. So many of us are still holding on to hurts and resentments against our parents, our relatives, our friends, our siblings, even years after they have apologized, or after they are no more. This burden fills us with negativity and this negativity starts oozing into our every cell and tissue, changes the chemical structure of our body, and slowly but steadily, results in disease, not to mention the loss of peace, joy and happiness in our lives.

Human beings are all unique, are all special. But they are all different. No two human beings are the same---they think differently, they speak differently, they act differently. And the words and actions of one might not be comfortable or convenient or acceptable to the other. But life is designed in this way. We cannot have universal agreement or universal disagreement on any topic. Opinions vary, ideas vary, thoughts vary, attitudes, beliefs, cultural backgrounds, religious backgrounds, economic backgrounds---all vary. And hence every relationship, whether between individuals, families, groups, societies, states, or nations, is always filled with animosity.
The only tool that we possess, to be able to heal our wounds and those of others, to be able to soothe frayed nerves, and to be able to lessen the emotional burden of ourselves and others, is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the magic mantra, the magic wand we possess, which we can wave as and when we choose to, and heal lots of people and things. The instant you truly forgive, something gets erased from the hard disk of your memory, a lot of negative energy is dissipated, and the person who asks for forgiveness and the person who genuinely forgives---both experience happiness, peace, joy, harmony, and good health.
This book is a collection of 30 powerful quotes by many famous people from all over the world, on the power of forgiveness—forgiving ourselves and others. I am sure that reading these powerful quotes, thinking about them, ruminating on them and putting them into action will be a winner all the way.