Forgive and Forget Revisited
In February, 2020, the merits of ‘Forgive and Forget’ were weighed. Part 1 of 2 were titled “Sometimes, Maybe.” Here are inspirations that update. Forgive and Forget, Healing Thoughts You can forgive someone almost anything. But you cannot tolerate everything…We don’t have to tolerate what people do just because we forgive them for doing it. Forgiving heals us personally. To tolerate everything only hurts us all in the long run. – Lewis B. Smedes It is not “forgive and forget” as if nothing wrong had ever happened, but “forgive and go forward,” building on mistakes of the past and the energy generated by reconciliation to create a new future. – Alan Paton Achieving a state of grace, peace and well-being after being injured is the primary goal. Certainly, when harm results from a pure, innocent accident, forgiving whoever caused the problem may help, as acts of generosity and understanding. When hurt by willful negligence and reckless disregard, outrage and anger may the healthiest response, eventually leading to grace and peace. As for those who deliberately and repeatedly injure, those on the receiving end must first take protective, preventive steps, then learn and grow from the experiences while moving on. Forgiving those who have mistreated, misused and abused can be inappropriate and become irrelevant. – Source Unknown Ruminating about the past will get you nowhere. So go ahead and learn from the past whatever you can, and then put it behind you. Remember, there is nothing you can do to change it, but you can use its lessons to improve your future. — Abraham J. Twerski Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. – Lewis B. Smedes Learn from yesterday, live for today. – Albert Einstein COMMENT. Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. Shop Succeed and Soar Puzzles Puzzles are made from premium 0.2” thick paper stock Include a semi-gloss coating that makes the top vibrant Arrives in a puzzle box with artwork printed on top for safe storage Puzzle pieces are unique shapes Purchase this puzzle. Shop All Collections HERE.
Forgive and Forget? Part 2 of 2: Sometimes Never.
Forgive but do not forget, or you will be hurt again. Forgiving changes the perspectives. Forgetting loses the lesson. – Paulo Coelho Dr. Gerald Jampolsky is the psychiatrist who founded The Center for Attitudinal Healing, which now has 130 centers worldwide. In addition, Dr. Jampolsky has written several gorgeous books about love and healing, including Forgiveness, The Greatest Healer of All, and has said, “Forgiveness means letting go of the past.” Sometimes, history should be held onto. Psych Central’s list of four reasons to forgive and NOT forget says that remembrance of mistreatment and injury can prevent “being a victim of the same offense again.” As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Here, ‘IT’ means people who are five to ten per cent of the population. They are the one in twenty people characterized by: Shallow Charm Contrived Reactions Pathological Lying No Guilt Secretly backstab and betray Create animosity [breaking up friends and families] These six descriptions are from How to Spot a Sociopath. The next is from “9 Ways to Identify that Sociopath, Psychopath, or Narcissist in your life.” The hundreds of thousands of people in this country with these anti-social personality disorders will also play “mind games” to control friends, family members, co-workers, and even strangers. This post ends with a must-see, reality-call video about the people [from all professions and walks of life] who find satisfaction in hurting others. In deciding whether ‘Forgive and Forget’ is always a good idea, consider Ishmael Beah’s words, A lot of people, when they say forgive and forget, they think you completely wash your brain out and forget everything. That is not the concept. What I think is you forgive and you forget so you can transform your experiences, not necessarily forget them but transform them, so that they don’t haunt you or handicap you or kill you. Remember, after wounds heal, there are reasons scars remain. Believe Nicolas Cage’s words about the heroic rescue attempts at the collapsing World Trade Center on September 11, 2001: Angels exist in people. Wisdoms Collection The inspiring and beautiful work in my Fine Art America collections is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here Thanks for your support! Sandra Gould Ford NOTE: size and placement of the art and words]can be changed as well as background colors.
Forgive and Forget? Part 1 of 2: Sometimes, Maybe.
For the past week, I‘ve been rethinking whether ‘forgive and forget’ is a good idea and found recommendations like Sydney Banks’, “If we can forgive everyone, regardless of what he or she may have done, we nourish the soul and allow our whole being to feel good.” The spiritual teacher Sri Chimnoy, who lived to uplift humanity, advised, “Forgive, you will have happiness. Forget, you will have satisfaction. Forgive and forget, you will have everlasting peace, within and without.” Frederick Lenz said, “Our task is to bring ourselves resolutely more and more into light, to forgive and forget …because to remember them is only to keep problems in mind.” Hmmm. Sometimes, keeping problems in mind is a good idea. I smile when reading Confucius’s advice, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” My smile broadens and brightens when reading Sue Grafton’s, words, “I know there are people who believe you should forgive and forget. For the record, I’d like to say I’m a big fan of forgiveness as long as I’m given the opportunity to get even first.” William P. Young had a point when he said, “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” The source for the next quote wasn’t located, “I prefer to hate and remember than forgive and forget.” My next post will show why these points of view have merit. After all, the goal here is to Succeed and Soar. Wisdoms Collection The inspiring and beautiful work in my Fine Art America collections is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here Thanks for your support! Sandra Gould Ford NOTE: size and placement of the art and words]can be changed as well as background colors.