Tagged: “Forgiveness Process”
When the news agencies state that a given state in the United States is forgiving student debt, are they truly using the term “forgiveness” correctly?
Actually, no; this is not forgiveness, but instead a legal pardon. Forgiveness occurs when a person is hurt by another. When governments eliminate debt, the government is not treated unfairly by the students. Legal pardon is not a personal affront, but a political decision in which those making the decision were not personally hurt by those who benefit from the decision.
Can I forgive situations, such as an unexpected flat tire? I ask because I kind of got mad at the tire.
No, you cannot forgive a flat tire because to forgive is to have mercy on people who have been unfair to you. You cannot have mercy on a flat tire. I recommend that you work on accepting what happened rather than forgiving the situation, because we cannot forgive situations.
What is the difference between what some people call “emotional forgiveness” and “decisional forgiveness”?
The essence of forgiveness includes a decision to proceed with the process of forgiveness, and then working on softened feelings toward the offending person, expanded cognitions in which the forgiver sees the inherent worth of the offending person, and behaviors that are not harmful toward this person. So, there is no “emotional forgiveness” and “decisional forgiveness” because both are incorporated in the whole of forgiveness.
How do I heal from my emotional wounds caused by my mother?
Here is a link to an essay I posted on the Psychology Today website about forgiving for what I called a “mother wound”:
Can you provide me with one example of a person forgiving another for “unforgivable” acts or severe trauma?
You might want to view the film, Forgiving Dr. Mengele, in which Eva Mozes Kor describes her forgiving of the Nazis who imprisoned her and her twin sister, who died from the immoral medical experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
