![30 Forgiveness Quotes That’ll Show You the Power of Letting Go (1) 30 Forgiveness Quotes That’ll Show You the Power of Letting Go (1)](https://i0.wp.com/hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/forgiveness-quote-lede-1657548223.png?crop=0.502xw:1.00xh;0.215xw,0&resize=640:*)
What comes to your mind when you say the words “I forgive you”? Does it feel like a healing moment, or does it just feel like it's the right thing to do? In a TEDx talk event, screenwriter, writer, and public speaker Sarah Montana bravely shared her tragic experience of losing her family to gun violence; the trigger was pulled by her brother's friend. Her exact words were "Forgiveness is designed to set you free. When you say, "I forgive you," what you're really saying is 'I know what you did is not okay, but I recognize that you are more than that. I don't want to hold us captive to this thing anymore. I can heal myself, and I don't need anything from you.'"
When recently reflecting on the subject of forgiveness, Oprah offered her own words of wisdom. "Forgiveness is giving up the hope that what would have, could have, should have happened, in fact…it did not happen. It's accepting the reality of what did happen, and moving on,"
Tired of letting anger from past mistakes, hurtful breakups, toxic family relationships, or lies occupy space in your heart and mind? There's an extraordinary healing power in taking the steps to forgive someone, or even yourself.
Oprah shared in one of her weekly intention videos: "This truth has been fundamental in allowing me to live my best life. It was transformative. You have to come to the realization that what might have been is not what is." So whichever phase you're at on this journey of healing and moving on, these forgiveness quotes from leaders like Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. may inspire you to move forward instead of reliving the past.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
1
“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," Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in A Gift of Love.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
3
The author and civil rights activist said in the December 2000 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, "It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
4
"Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget," she wrote in An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
6
The leader of India's nonviolent independence movement wrote in 1931 in his weekly paper Young India, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
7
"To err is human; to forgive, divine," wrote the 18th-century English poet in An Essay on Criticism.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
8
The prolific actor, writer, and producer said in a 2010 interview with The Telegraph,"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."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
9
In a message celebrating the 2002 World Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II said, "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against natural instinct to pay back evil with evil."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
10
In her 2013 novel The Storyteller, the best-selling author wrote, "Forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, 'You’re not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.' It’s saying, 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future.'"
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
11
In the lyrics of his song "Just the Two of Us," the actor, rapper, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star writes,"Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because hate in your heart will consume you too."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
12
"Take forgiveness slowly. Don't blame yourself for being slow. Peace will come," said the Japanese American artist and peace activist in a Tweet.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
14
"Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning," Martin Luther King Jr. said in a sermon published in A Gift of Love.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
15
The American television personality known for his beloved children's show said in the book Wisdom from the World According to Mr. Rogers, "Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
16
In the December 2000 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, the late poet said, "You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, 'I forgive. I'm finished with it.'"
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
17
The South African Anglican cleric and Nobel Peace Prize laureate said in a 2010 interview with The Forgiveness Project, "Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
18
"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them," wrote the martial artist in his book Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
19
The former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient wrote in his autobiography Long Walk To Freedom, "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
20
In her song "Under the Water," the American singer-songwriter sang,"Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend."