Forgive me if this is a double

January 21, 2008 10:06 AM

"I believe with every fibre of my being that every human being has the right to live without the pain of the past". An amazing collection of personal stories, reflecting diverse attitudes to forgiveness and reconciliation, hosted by The Forgiveness Project.
posted by teleskiving (12 comments total)

Are they in all caps?
posted by Faux Real at 10:32 AM on January 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

(these are pretty amazing)
posted by Faux Real at 10:33 AM on January 21, 2008

"I believe with every fiber of my being that every human being has the right to live without the pain of the past"

I believe this is large part of who we are.
posted by spaltavian at 10:41 AM on January 21, 2008

From here:

Today my three sisters work with me to stop the practice of circumcision. Even my mother now understands that it’s a violation of human rights. And before he died six years ago, I was able to have a good talk with my father. I opened my heart to him and explained how female circumcision could affect you physically and mentally. He cried and said that no woman had ever explained the suffering to him. Then he apologised and asked for forgiveness. The next day he called my relatives in Senegal and told them to stop the practice. As a result, a meeting was cancelled and 50 girls were saved.

Thanks for this post.
posted by languagehat at 10:53 AM on January 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Previous post tangentially about Amish Forgiveness
posted by Toekneesan at 11:03 AM on January 21, 2008

I just randomly clicked on this story of a widow who formed a relationship with the man who murdered her husband. Incredibly powerful. It will obviously take awhile to get through all of these, but well worth it it seems.
posted by The Gooch at 11:06 AM on January 21, 2008

I found this one moving.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:07 AM on January 21, 2008

Wow. Just wow. I'm in tears, but so incredibly hopeful. Earlier today I was feeling a little downtrodden—maybe it was the rain, or Monday malaise, the ridiculous amount of $$ I spent on groceries, the Huffington posters which are now leaning against my wall (thanks to this post) and reminding me of the current sorry ass state of American politics, or the homeless woman I drove past today, just general blahs, who knows, there are lots of reasons to get caught up in oneself or allow disheartening things get you down. But a little perspective, a different type of lead, can really change all that. Pretty quickly. I feel oddly happy. These are the best, most inspirational life choice memoirs that I've read about in a long, long time.

We've all done things we've wished we could be forgiven for; and we've all wished we had the strength to let go of what others have done to us—to find that place (however mythical it may seem) where we wish them peace, and really mean it. Reading these stories makes me hopeful that myself and others may take these atrocities and find ways to use them as a means to put kindness back in the world, and not the anger and hate that we've relied on for so long.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:59 AM on January 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Whether victim or perpetrator, part of being human is rolling up our sleeves and taking an active part in repairing harm. (Same story that The Gooch linked to above)

This is incredibly moving, thank you for posting it. I have taken an interest in Restorative Justice since I saw a talk given by Bo Lozoff of the Human Kindness Foundation nearly ten years ago. I am pleased to see that the concept seems to be taking more of hold in society and criminal justice systems with each passing year.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:51 PM on January 21, 2008

Ok, I promise not to post after every good entry I read, but this story of a man who lost his daughter in the Oklahoma City bombing seems worth pointing out:

“I had to do something different, because what I was doing wasn’t working”
posted by The Gooch at 1:28 PM on January 21, 2008

If I forgive everyone, can I still hold their mistakes against them when we argue?
posted by HotPatatta at 1:31 PM on January 21, 2008

This is beyond fantastic. Thanks for posting this.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:18 PM on January 21, 2008