A collection of forgiveness quotes to bring calmness, kindness, and love into your life.
What does forgiveness mean, and how can we define it?
It is the ability to let go of resentment and anger. It means releasing unpleasant memories and emotions about past events and people you believe have hurt you.
This word also means letting goodwill and happiness fill your life instead of hurt feelings, resentment, and anger.
It would be best if you rose above your ego and petty considerations. Then, you can show mercy, compassion, and tolerance.
Here is our collection of inspiring quotes about forgiveness.
Inspiring Forgiveness Quotes and Sayings
“Forgiveness does not mean you approve of bad behavior. It means you decide to free yourself from the ropes of anger, resentment and thoughts of retaliation.”
“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds.”
“If we practice an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless.”
“To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.”
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past—but you sure do change the future.”
“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.”
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“When your mind is restless, you experience distress. When your heart is forgiving, your mind is peaceful, and you experience happiness.”
“Be strong enough to forgive without hearing an apology.”
“Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.”
“Forgiving yourself or others is an act of choosing to stop hurting yourself.”
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
Quotes about Forgiveness and Anger
“Dwelling on past hurts and repeating them in your mind is a bad investment that creates suffering.”
“To understand is to forgive, even oneself.”
“He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.”
“When negative thoughts of anger and hurt clear away, peace and happiness can step in.”
“Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.”
“Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore.”
“If you cannot forgive yourself, you cannot forgive others.”
“When you forgive someone, you stop harboring a grudge, and choose to harbor in calm water.”
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
“The simple truth is, we all make mistakes, and we all need forgiveness.”
“When forgiveness enters your mind and heart, anger can find no place there and goes away.”
More Quotes on Forgiving
“If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”
“Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.”
“An apology is the super glue of life. It can repair just about anything.”
“Without forgetting it is quite impossible to live at all.”
“Forgiving is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.”
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.”
“Compassion and love are the source of all spiritual qualities: forgiveness, tolerance, all the virtues.”
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
“When a deep injury is done to us, we never heal until we forgive.”
“When someone tries to belittle you, immediately forgive him, because your self-worth depends solely on you, and you already know how wonderful you are.”
“I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge.”
“Even if you are a good person, circumstances and people might make you become vindictive, hurtful and inconsiderate. You should be careful not to let this happen. You should strive to be forgiving. Only then, you’ll be able to live in peace with yourself.”
“Forgiveness isn’t approving what happened. It’s choosing to rise above it.”
“To forgive is like opening a window in a darkened room and letting the light and the warmth of the sun come in.”
“Strive to be kind and considerate, despite unpleasant past experiences. This will help you remove grudges and resentments.”
Quotes about Forgiveness to Change Your Mind Set
“If I choose to bless another person, I will always end up feeling more blessed.”
“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.”
“We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility”
“The cruel always believe the kind are weak. But human decency and goodness can also move human affairs.”
“On the whole, my impression is that mercy bears richer fruits than any other attribute.”
“Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.”
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
“Those who forgive can forget, and those who do not forgive will continue to suffer and be unhappy.”
“Being forgiven is like having all the worst bits of yourself stuffed into a balloon, and then having that balloon set free.”
“If you let yourself become hurt by what people say, it would be difficult to forgive. If you don’t take things personally, you will not be hurt, and therefore, there will be nothing you need to forgive.”
“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive.”
“I remember everything but forgive anyway.”
“To be forgiving and to let go, takes you to the highroad leading to inner peace.”
“We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.”
“When in doubt, better be forgiving than vindictive.”
“It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.”
“Forgiveness will free you from the desire to hit back.”
Relationship Forgiveness Quotes
We all sometimes run into disputes, disagreements and misunderstandings in relationship. This can be in relationships with wife or husband, children, siblings, neighbors or colleagues.
It’s pity to spoil relationship or carry a grudge. it’s like living under a black cloud. Life becomes easier and happier when we forgive and stop blaming.
Forgiveness in relationship is important. Here are few relationship forgiveness quotes.
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
“Some forgive and forget, more forgive and remember, most do not forgive and keep dwelling on the wrong they have experienced.”
“If you want to love and be loved, start forgiving, otherwise your relationship has no chance to last.”
“People have to forgive. We don’t have to like them, we don’t have to be friends with them, we don’t have to send them hearts in text messages, but we have to forgive them, to overlook, to forget. Because if we don’t, we are tying rocks to our feet, too much for our wings to carry.”
“Appreciate those who love you, help those who need you, forgive those who hurt you, forget those who leave you.”
“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.”
Forgiveness and Happiness
Happiness is closely related to inner peace. The happier you are, the more inner peace you possess and enjoy.
Happiness is a pleasant feeling of joy and satisfaction. However, you cannot achieve it if your mind is always busy with negative thoughts and feelings of hurt. You cannot enjoy happiness if there is anger and resentment toward the people who have hurt your feelings.
We seek happiness in a better job, more money, love, possessions and success, believing that they will make us happy. But happiness arises from within, and does not depend on external conditions.
To enjoy happiness we need to learn to forgive and clear our mind of any resentment, anger or negative thoughts and feelings.
Forgiveness and Happiness Quotes
“Forgiveness brings happiness.”
“When you forgive, and truly accept someone’s forgiveness, there is a sense of relief and freedom, which makes the mind peaceful. Then, there are no longer negative thoughts that disturb your mind, and you experience inner peace and happiness.”
“When your mind is peaceful, happiness rises from within you.”
“Anger, resentment and restless thinking hide happiness and peace, in the same way that mud and waves hide a treasure lying at the bottom of a lake. When the surface of the water becomes still and the mud settles down, you can see the treasure that lies beneath. The same applies to your mind. When you still your mind, you enjoy the treasures of peace of mind and happiness.”
Take the First Step to Forgive
“Forgiving yourself is the first step toward inner peace.”
It might be difficult for most people to forgive. There is always the tendency to dwell on past hurts, instead of releasing them.
There is no sense in holding to anger and resentment. You hurt yourself by keeping them inside you. The other person, whom you believe has hurt you, might not even know that he or she has hurt you at all.
It does not matter what people did in the past. Why not make a fresh start? Why not erase the bad memories and start anew? Why waste your time and energy on things that belong to the past?
Strive to forgive, no matter how difficult this might be. Don’t wait for the other person to apologize. Take the first step to forgive now.
Stop thinking bad thoughts about people with whom you have an issue, greet them when you meet them and smile at them. You can also pick up the phone and call them and tell them that you forgive them.
Use words of forgiveness, such as:
- I forgive you.
- I am sorry.
- Let’s renew our friendship.
- Let’s pardon each other.
- I want to make a fresh start.
I hope the forgiveness quotes on this page would help you with the act of forgiving.
Quotes Directory >> Forgiveness Quotes
About the Author
Remez Sasson is the founder of SuccessConsciousness.com, a leading resource for personal growth and self-transformation. With decades of experience in self-improvement and meditation, Remez has empowered countless individuals worldwide to unlock their potential.
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