glitterlion:

This idea that you “have” to forgive people in order to move on or whatever is complete and utter bullshit. You don’t “have” to forgive anyone in order to live a life that’s fulfilling to you.

No you don’t “have to” do anything you don’t want to do. We are human beings and that automatically gives us total volition over our actions. However, the act of forgiveness is essential to having a fulfilling life. When someone has done harm to you, you hold on to that betrayal until you consciously decide to forgive that person and let it go, It provides closure because you’ve purified the wound so that you can begin to heal. Forgiveness is unique to human kind, it allows us to acknowledge the wrong doing and grow from it, It’s what separates us from barbarians and animals of a lower consciousness. Forgiveness is what peacefully ended the apartheid. The opposite of forgiveness was how the German defeat was treated at the end of WW1 and was responsible for the power vacuum it created that caused WW2. Peace does not exist without forgiveness. In order to be truly fulfilled, you have to accept yourself as being human and understand what that means