Forgiveness is taught to us as one of the most important virtues of life. When someone causes us pain or discomfort, we are told to ‘be the bigger person’ and ‘forgive and forget’. Even Jesus Christ is believed to have advised his followers to ‘turn the other cheek’. But in real life, forgiveness doesn’t come easily to everyone. From small mistakes to serious betrayals, we are affected by a range of transgressions. And while sometimes a simple apology is sufficient to salvage the situation other times, we end up carrying these wounds with us for years.
Holding on to painful emotions and thoughts affects us in more ways than one. It can cause us immense discomfort and hold us back from living our lives to the fullest. That’s why it is important to forgive, even when it seems impossible to do so. In this feature, Soulveda explores the concept of forgiveness, and how we can learn to free ourselves from the pain we’re holding on to.
Over two decades ago, a woman named Colleen Haggerty was in a road accident. At 17, she was run over by a car and had lost her leg. She was faced with a long, painful, uphill battle to recovery. For years, she struggled to recover from the trauma, not only physically but also emotionally. And even though she went on to be a model survivor, learning to ski, kayak, skydive and rock climb on her prosthetic leg, she couldn’t be her old self.
The anger and resentment Haggerty held towards the man who had run her over burst out of her in the form of rage and prolonged depressive episodes. Haggerty realised that despite doing so much with her life, she was profoundly unhappy. It wasn’t until she learned to let go of her anger and forgive the man who took away her leg that she managed to turn her life around. Today, Haggerty is a successful author and a forgiveness mentor. In her Ted Talk titled Forgiving the Unforgivable, Haggerty says, “Each time I forgive, I open the door to the possibility of being more of who I am meant to be. No matter how serious the transgression, the choice to forgive is always a gift we give ourselves.”
That intense negative emotions like anger and resentment can hold us back in life is not hard to understand. Most of us might have experienced this in our own lives. We know it affects us and we would like to be able to forgive and relieve ourselves of the negativity. But it isn’t always easy. To be able to forgive and let go, we first need to ask, what does it mean to forgive someone? Does it mean we condone their hurtful actions? Does it mean we let them back into our lives? Does it mean we set ourselves up to be hurt again? Not always.
Twenty-two-year-old Anika Rajesh’s experience shows what happens when we forgive unwisely. “I unconditionally forgave my ex-boyfriend for badmouthing me in front of his friends. A few months later, he did it again and when I was upset about it, he said, ‘How come you let it slide the last time then?’ Naturally, I had to put an end to that relationship,” she says. Indeed, not everyone deserves our forgiveness. There might be people who take advantage of our good nature for their own benefit. By forgiving such people and giving them a chance to hurt us again, we only end up enabling them. Sociologist Vani Subramanian agrees. Says she, “It’s problematic when forgiveness becomes synonymous to being a pushover or not setting clear boundaries. This can take a toll on your mental health.”
Most abusive relationships thrive on such a dynamic, where one person constantly hurts and the other constantly forgives. This can land the one at the receiving end in a pit of mental health issues that might be hard to recover from. So what does one do in such a situation?
Sometimes, by confronting the person who hurt us, we might just get caught in a never-ending loop of arguments and bitterness. In such a situation, the best way to go might be to deal with the hurt by ourselves, without involving the other person.
Forgiveness is a virtue that involves letting go of resentment and granting pardon to someone who has caused us pain or harm. It is important because holding onto grudges and negative emotions can hamper our own well-being and happiness.
Forgiveness can be challenging because it requires us to let go of negative emotions and release any desire for revenge.
By forgiving, we can experience personal growth, improve relationships, and foster empathy and understanding.
Comments