Forgiving and Forgetting

Forgiving and Forgetting

Forgiving and Forgetting is one of the most recurring MIX-UP day-IN day-OUT.  Many even equate each other as one and the same.  NO sirrrrrs.  Each is distinct on its own.  Forgiving and Forgetting do NOT happen in fell swoop because these are two separate actions with different intents although the results may be similar💴💷💵

Thing is, people who have suffered 'wrongdoings' are often urged to 'FORGIVE & FORGET'.  Indeed, forgetting the details of past experiences that elicit painful, sometimes debilitating feelings of resentment, anger and hate, seems necessary in order to replace those NEGATIVE feelings with POSITIVE ones📘📙📗

BUT lest we forget, remembering the details of past wrongdoing also seems necessary for FORGIVENESS.  If a person's memory of a past offense were somehow deleted from one's mind, we WON'T say that that person has forgiven the offender.  FORGIVENESS then, seems to require a contradiction.  One must both remember and FORGET to FORGIVE.  How should we understand the precise relationship between FORGIVING and FORGETTING to resolve this paradox❎❎❎

What's perplexing is that, till to date, the relationship between MEMORY and FORGIVENESS remains unclear.  BUT setting that paradox aside, let's put ourselves in the shoes of the offended party.  There you go, you FORGIVE in good faith.  BUT is it fair, just and reasonable for the offended part to totally FORGET that as well?  I've come across many times that hypothesis and I would hit the wall with the question:  HOW WILL I LEARN THE LESSON IF I HAVE TO FORGET❓❓❓

And our takeaway for today?  WHEN a snake bites you, it injects poison into you and slithers away.  You are then in pain as long as the venom stays, while the snake has moved on and DOESN'T even recall biting you.  FORGIVENESS is the act of removing that POISON and eliminating the pain.  However, it is important to remember that even though the POISON is removed and the pain is gone, the snake is still a snake.  Therefore, FORGIVENESS does NOT mean FORGETTING.  It is important to be wise enough to avoid putting yourself in the snake's presence again❗❗❗