Forgiveness

Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” (BrainyQuote).  Gandhi was right in that most of us cannot find the strength to let go of other people’s wrongdoings.  But, it is difficult to understand why when logically it is best to move on, and not allow our anger to hold us back.  For most people, it is never easy to come to terms with a betrayal of any kind, whether it is financial, marital, etc.  Nonetheless, there are people like Nelson Mandela.  Mandela decided to join forces with his enemies after being imprisoned for over 25 years.  In an ideal world, I guess it makes sense to forgive people for their mistakes and move on.  Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.  People do horrible things to each other in unimaginable ways, and someone is always scarred emotionally and/or physically.  Deciding whether or not to forgive depends on the situation.  Would you forgive your friend for breaking the iPod you leant him?  Most likely, yes because you have no choice.  But, could you ever forgive the drunk driver that killed your family in a car crash?  Well, I do not think many people would have the strength to forgive the driver.  Nonetheless, I think it is fair to say that holding grudges against others gets us nowhere.  Gandhi also said “Forgiveness is for the strong” (BrainyQuote).  Not forgiving only makes you angry, and makes the other party terribly upset.  Only the weak find satisfaction in tearing apart those at fault.  This strategy brings no conclusion to the problem at hand, and prevents us from moving along with our lives.  The strong, on the other hand, will accept that this anger is unnecessary and will take them nowhere.  A good example of this in our world today is Nelson Mandela’s rise to presidency in South Africa.  After being imprisoned for 25 years, President Mandela used forgiveness to move his country forward.  When he became President, many thought he was going to seek revenge against the people that put him in prison.  Surprisingly, Mandela invited his enemies to his inauguration ceremony as special guests.  He did this to show that he had moved on, and wanted them to join him in building a better South Africa.  I know people like Mandela are rare, and to be honest, I would not have invited my enemies to my inauguration ceremony.  However, I would not have sought revenge because it would jeopardize my country’s future.  I do my best to follow Mandela’s example, and I can tell you that it has made me a happier person.  Although at times difficult, I try to accept people’s apologies because it allows me to let go of my anger.  Expelling this anger makes us stronger – the type of stronger that Gandhi was talking about.