Many people have dealt with tragedies in a courageous manner, choosing to offer forgiveness rather than carry bitterness and anger in their hearts and minds. Phil Cousineau's book Beyond Forgiveness mentions Sauk Chief Keokuk and Jacqueline Kennedy as two examples.
Chief Keokuk forgave those who forced his people on the Trail of Tears and even bid them good-bye in peace, offering to welcome them in his new home should they visit.
Jacqueline Kennedy wrote a letter to Lee Harvey Oswald's widow during the time she was planning the funeral of her deceased husband.
Another fairly recent example that made newspaper headlines was the Amish who forgave the killer of six little girls in their schoolhouse. They visited his widow offering their condolences.
The writer of this section of the book suggests that it is, perhaps, easier to forgive the big trangressions than to forgive the small ones. Certainly there are plenty of people carrying anger over small acts they perceive as hurtful.
Another question we might ask is: "are we responsible for wrongs perpetrated by our ancestors hundreds of years ago?" If we refuse to make amends for those wrongs, are we preventing ourselves, our communities, our country, from moving forward?
Finally, in order to forgive, it helps if we can put ourselves in the shoes of the person who wronged us. Understanding the wrongdoer may be the key to moving forward in the forgiving process.
Lots of questions, not many answers. What are your thoughts? We'd love to hear from you.
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