“He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass”.  ~George Herbert.

In all of the terror and horrible things happening in the world, how does one forgive? From hateful rhetoric to mass killings there is a widespread of people that hurt others either mentally, physically, emotionally or all of those at once. The outcome of how people respond is usually with anger and sadness. The anger that is expressed usually turns into a mental battle. This pain is noted to be dreadful. When a person possesses such a strong emotion, this feeling tends to overrule the feeling of pain that was caused by the incident. The individual or group that is affected the most are the ones who possess such a strong grudge for an amount of time, whether it be minutes, hours, months, or years.

As a human, it is understood to have a cynical attitude towards one whose behavior hurts another. It is known that people want revenge on the attacker, bully, or whoever may have caused grief towards another person. As a result, it ends up like a chain reaction. All this built up spitefulness releases a pessimistic view on an individual’s life. This is all triggered by the emotional pain someone has been through and that person will not let it go or move forward, instead, he/she fights back and hopes to hurt that person. The pain and grieving will never come to a halt. This is how a grudge comes to constantly haunt the mind.

It is quite simple to release negative connotations towards another, but how does it affect oneself? One can hate someone for the things he/she has done to you or the people you love, but will the hate allow you to move on? The answer is no. Our past sometimes influences how we act in our present state of mind. You cannot change the past only learn from it and make the best out of the situation.

Humans who constantly reminisce on the negative effects the past has brought on will never be able to fully move forward. Instead of dreading the negative actions that occurred, realize that the incident happened and one must move forward. Yes, forgiving someone for the pain he/she caused on an individual can be challenging, but worth it not only for one’s heart but one’s mind and soul as well.

Relieving the soul of anger and resentment is a form of purification, allowing oneself to relax and breathe, as well as a feeling of peace.  With keeping hate and tension inside one doesn’t only think about it constantly, but also the feeling will never allow one to be as free as the soaring bird in an increasingly joyful flight. If you are the victim (bird) with hate, how will you continue to grow and reach a heavenly destination? The feeling to recoil from abhorring will never disappear. In order for one to fly and move forward,one must release the hatred. Let it go.

Life is too short to hold a deep bitterness. Refraining from developing a rancorous mindset toward an individual or group of people enables one’s mind to have a sense of a positive remembrance and relief. For one's sanity, releasing all the negativity towards people or a certain individual enables the sense of ease, permitting oneself to function and grow positively. Why build up so much hatred when a path of feeling at ease is open?  Looking back, is it really worth holding such a grudge? Be free and live in the moment, one can't change the past, but one can live the life one wishes it to be. Forgive the pain, move forward. Forgive.