Why should we forgive? Share your thoughts!
Forgiveness, even though sounds simple enough, more often than not, it is harder to actually be able to forgive someone.
So, talking about it, in this thread lets reflect on why should we forgive someone?
Should we forgive one who hurt us because I dont want to carry around the anger, resentment, and unforgiveness?
Should we forgive because we get physical, mental-health, or relationship benefits?
Should we forgive to let go the feelings to punish the person who harmed us?
Why, in your opinion, should we forgive?
Will love to hear all of your opinions 
@River
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Ah forgiveness is still something I'm struggling with. To me, forgiveness is for the self, not for the person who hurt you. AND! Forgiveness DOES NOT equal forgetting! Often forgiving is conflated with forgetting. If you choose to forgive a person who hurt you, it is to heal you. It is for your wellbeing so that you can start to let go of the pain. Letting go, to me, does not mean to forget, but to move past. Let yourself feel the pain and then move past the pain -- don't let it consume you. This doesn't mean that you should completely forget... because then you may be opening yourself up to getting hurt by the same thing again. An example, I forgive my ex for hurting me, but I haven't forgotten what she did to hurt me. It took time to forgive her... years actually. Once I did, I felt lighter for a while. I feel better knowing that her actions and words no longer hang over me, because I chose to think 'she hurt me, it wasn't right of her, but I am not helping my depression by being angry and bitter'. It is going to take a while in some cases. It is going to take practice. It's worth it. Forgiveness is such an important skill.
Hey! I love your response it is so well thought. Forgiveness really doesnt mean to forget and not feel the pain, it means to not let it consume it and it surely does take time and it will be worth it! Thank you for such a well thought response again! <3
Forgiveness is like taking a knife out of your own back. When you forgive, you instantly feel good, like something heavy is lifted off of you.
@Letsloveyourself
I love how you compared it with taking out knife from yourself. It does feel good and like heavy weight has been lifted.
One of my favorite self-help guides is Forgiveness. I've learned a lot of things from it and it cleared things up for me.
Should we forgive one who hurt us because I dont want to carry around the anger, resentment, and unforgiveness?
Forgiveness can either be decisional or emotional. You may want to decide to forgive someone but may also have different emotions you feel towards them. Just because you don't want to carry around the anger, resentment, unforgiveness doesn't mean it could be considered as decisional forgiveness. The feeling of hurt can resurface if you'd choose to deny it and to not acknowledge the emotions you're feeling until you've chosen to completely move on.
Should we forgive because we get physical, mental health, or relationship benefits?
Forgiving can be very beneficial in terms of physical and mental health, yes. However, when talking about relationships, you can choose to forgive someone and restore the relationship (reconciliation) or you'd rather choose to forgive them but don't want to restore it - which is totally fine as well!
Should we forgive to let go the feelings to punish the person who harmed us?
Punishing the person or getting even to revenge isn't forgiving. I believe that forgiving should be done not to add insult to the injury but to acknowledge hurt and move forward in life.
Why, in your opinion, should we forgive?
We should forgive so we can be at peace and let go of what's hurting us. Forgiving doesn't mean favoring the offender, it's us who benefits when we do it. Relief will be felt once we forgive. It's like finally removing what's blocking our airways so we can breathe freely.
@Erato
Hey, thank you for your detailed response! I love forgiveness guide we have here too!! <3 Choosing to not acknowledge emotions that hurt makes us feel before forgiveness someone might cause it to resurface. I love how you mentioned forgiveness is more about acknowledging hurt and moving on. And yes, feeling at peace and relief sounds like good reasons for why we should forgive.
