In a 2004 talk at the European Gradate School, Derrida again discusses "forgiveness" - for him "pure forgiveness" can only be given by a "singular, irreplaceable person" to another singularity (it cannot emanate from a government) and involves two possibilities: forgiving the person who wronged another or forgiving that person's wrongful acts ... pure forgiveness concerns our ability to forgive the other even when that individual has not repented, asked for forgiveness or acknowledged responsibility - Derrida calls this type of forgiveness "impossible" - but, the only forgiveness "worthy of the name" ... customary (or conditional) forgiving, involving exchange - that the other, for example, acknowledges wrongdoing - is not true forgiveness ... for Derrida, we must "forgive the unforgivable" - we have to allow the (that) "other" in me, not my usual self governed by reciprocity, to actually bestow proper forgiveness ...
My friend Margaret recomended this to me...My mind is blown.
Norman Cousins
ReplyDeleteLife is an Adventure in Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a healing journey for both the body and soul
Forgiveness is a creative act that changes us from prisoners of the past to liberated people at peace with our memories
There is no future in the past. Non-forgiveness keeps you in the struggle
It is not forgetfulness, but it involves accepting the promise that the future can be more than dwelling on memories of past injury
To forgive means to “give up”, to let go; It takes no strength to let go, only courage
Being willing to forgive can bring a sense of peace and well-being
You can never live in the present and create a new and exciting future for yourself if you stay stuck in the past
When we forgive, we are willing to give up resentment, revenge and obsession. We are willing to restore faith not only in ourselves but in life itself
Life either expands or contracts in direct proportion to your courage to forgive
Forgiveness is the most important single process that brings peace to our soul and harmony to our life
Forgiveness is not something we have to do, but something we must allow to flow through us. We become aware that we are free and we can project that love outward into our world
The outward flow of divine love dissolving all hurt, all bitterness and all sense of injustice
Just allow the divine grace to express through us, to forgive through us
Forgiveness is the key to your own happiness. It ends the illusion of separation
Forgiveness is the form of love within the context of a personal crisis
The act of forgiveness constitutes a mental bath, letting go of something that can only poison us within
Forgiveness helps make peace with the past and creates the freedom to create a new future beginning now
Change is constant. There is tremendous freedom in letting go
Forgiveness is the liberation to free ourselves of things that clutter our lives
Like pruning dead branches or like a snake shedding its old skin, we need to let go of what no longer serves or what no longer fits so that there is room for something new, alive and what is needed at this time in our lives
When we stop holding on and clinging to anything, we realize we have everything. We no longer need to feel burdened by the responsibility of holding on to something
To forgive is to remember that we have room in our hearts to begin again and again and again
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS