A quote from the Queen herself – Ms. Oprah Winfrey! What we love about this quote is that it brings such a real perspective on processing past pain and moving on for a smarter, brighter, and all around better future.

Because – at the end of the day – we’re all humans – which means we human around – we make mistakes – and then either end up needing forgiveness from others, or it’s required for us to give it. Either way, the need to forgive is bound to bite ya at some point.

So, when Oprah talks about this process of forgiving, it can truly be like grieving – and doing whatever you need to do – and processing however you personally need to process – in order to come out the other end – see the silver lining – and understand the meaning, lesson, or new perspective it has given to your life. And, even if it was a bitter pill to swallow – coming to a place where you are able to be grateful for that experience because it helped you see…(you fill in the blank)!

So, that’s the kind of forgiveness Oprah’s talking about. She ain’t talkin’ no surface level forgiveness – “I said I forgave them but I was really just lying through my teeth” kinda deal. Oprah talks of TRUE forgiveness. Is it the hardest type of forgiveness to come by and come TO? Most definitely! But, the reward of this type of recognition and realization is far greater.

Because, no matter how hard it can be to forgive misdoings (big or small), deep down we know that life happens FOR us and not TO us. Which means that even those really hard things – even those things at the expense of people we love – are MEANT to help us GROW, and find deeper meaning in our lives.

But, we can’t talk about forgiveness without at least mentioning the concept of forgive and forget. We think the sentiment behind forgive and forget is that you don’t let the situation weigh you down, and you allow yourself (and the other person(s) involved) to move on. And, we like that sentiment! BUT we also don’t want to FORGET what we learned from that experience, because that is what allows us to grow and gain perspective on how to be better in the future.

Oh – and by LEARNING we don’t mean learning that the person who wronged you SUCKS. The learning part is not about them at all. It’s about learning what that hard thing taught you about YOU, and figuring out how the experience will help shape for a better future! And, when you can shift your perspective to see these things, you may just find a little-bittle-bit of LOVE for the person – because they brought you to love more of YOU. Sounds pretty sweet, huh? So let’s go out and give some of that TRUE forgiveness to others, for others, and – even more so – for yourself!

Don’t think you’ve learned enough from this experience yet? Hear more about it (in podcast version) right here!