Spoken Word: Forgiveness

Forgiveness is there for all who desire it.

Forgiveness can only be given by a heart desiring to free itself from bitterness and hatred.

Forgiveness can only truly be received by a penitent and contrite heart.

Anyone can be and should be freely forgiven. Forgiveness is even more important for the one offended, as it frees them from the bitterness of the transgression and enables them to move beyond the hurt and the pain.

It is not the concern of the one hurt or offended whether the cause of their angst is deserving of forgiveness; each person is responsible for their own soul.
The one who freely forgives, protects themselves from being consumed by the anger, hate and bitterness which are caustic to the body, mind and spirit.

If one is truly and wholeheartedly sorrowful for what they have done, seeks forgiveness, and does not receive it from the one they hurt, they should not spend the rest of their lives wallowing in self-pity, guilt and shame.

Admitting and accepting that they have done wrong, seeking forgiveness, and committing to making amends, puts them on the path to redemption.

There will be those who will never forgive. That is their loss.

There will be those who never seek forgiveness. That too is their loss.

Forgiving and seeking forgiveness are mutually independent. They are not conditional of each other. Forgiveness can be sought and not given. Forgiveness can be given and not received.

Forgiveness, both sought and given, starts from within. One must be able to forgive themselves. If one cannot forgive themselves, either for what they have done or what has been done to them, those persons can neither give nor receive forgiveness.

There is, however, ONE who ALWAYS forgives. HE forgives all who seek forgiveness. But the one who does not seek it will not receive it.

The sea is always there, but you cannot bathe in it if you do not enter it.