Can You Say “I Forgive You?”

My Musings – “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life’s important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.” ― Fred Rogers.  Yesterday, my family and I went to see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” starring Tom Hanks.  It is a wonderful movie, more a lesson on forgiveness than it is a biopic of a truly remarkable man.

Forgiveness is the conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed (real or imagined) you, regardless of whether you believe they actually deserve your forgiveness.  Interestingly enough, right there in the middle of the word forgiveness is another very important word…