100 Forgiveness Quotes To Let Go Of The Past And Move On

Forgive and seek forgiveness, as letting go is often the best way to live in peace.

Written by Shivank Joshi Shivank Joshi
Last Updated on

Forgiveness is easier said than done. If you find it difficult to pardon, we present this post on forgiveness quotes that might make the process easier for you. The act of forgiveness is a noble but personal one. If a person near and dear to you has wronged you, forgiving them right away is not easy.

However, it is necessary to feel relieved from the mental prison of anxiety that it puts us in. Moving ahead in the journey towards forgiveness feels like a breath of fresh air, and a heavyweight lifted off your shoulders.

Here are some quotes on forgiveness that may help you pardon people who have hurt you.

101 Forgiveness Quotes

These quotes show you a glimpse into the world of self-attained freedom. You can read them and get a boost to forgive anyone.

  1. To err is human; to forgive, divine.” —Alexander Pope
  1. There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” —Bryant H. McGill
  1. Asking for forgiveness is hard, but accepting one is even harder.” —Unknown
  1. The love for a person can be determined by the strength to forgive.” —Unknown
  1. When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.” —Alan Paton
  1. Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” —Mark Twain
  1. Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.” —Emma Goldman
  1. Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” —Oscar Wilde
  1. Anger begets more anger, and forgiveness and love lead to more forgiveness and love.” —Mahavira
  1. A noble spirit finds a cure for injustice in forgetting it.” —Publilius Syrus
  1. Forgiving the one who broke your heart is the sign of true love.” —Unknown
  1. There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.” — John Connolly
  1. Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.” —Indira Gandhi
  1. True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.” —Oprah Winfrey
  1. Forgiveness comes easy the day one realizes that nobody is perfect.” —Unknown
  1. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” —Maya Angelou
  1. It can be hard to forgive and let go but it’s important to remember that harboring the resentment and holding a grudge can hurt you even more. The word ‘forgive’ really means to give something up for yourself not for them.” —Jack Canfield
  1. Forgiveness will help you more than the person you forgive.” —Catherine Pulsifer
  1. We May want others’ forgiveness, but that comes from a place of self-gratification; we are asking forgiveness of others to avoid the harder work of forgiving ourselves.” —Lori Gottlieb
  1. We must learn to forgive the ones we love and we can practice love only when we have forgiven.” —Jaspinder Grover
  1. Forgiveness is the final form of love.” —Reinhold Niebuhr
  1. One must learn to forgive oneself before forgiving others.” —Unknown
  1. Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” —Bruce Lee
  1. Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
  1. 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.” —Tyler Perry
  1. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.” —Tony Robbins
  1. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” — Nelson Mandela
  1. Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are the life-altering lessons.” —Jessica Lange
  1. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
  1. Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” — Will Smith
  1. Forgiveness is a habitual part of love.” —Unknown
  1. Life is an adventure in forgiveness.” —Norman Cousins
  1. Showering even the ungrateful with forgiveness only makes you more powerful.” —Unknown
  1. The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” —Thomas Szasz
  1. Forgiveness is rewarding and frees two spirits.” —Unknown
  1. Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” —Ivern Ball
  1. I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” —Jane Austen
  1. Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer and forgiveness.” —H. Jackson Brown Jr.
  1. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” —Lewis B. Smedes
  1. Your ego is not ready to forgive but your soul is.” —Maxime Lagacé
  1. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.” —Thomas S. Monson
  1. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart..forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.” —Hannah More
  1. A person with a forgiving heart is worth treasuring.” —Unknown
  1. If you cannot forgive and forget, pick one and do it.” —James Brault
  1. You have been forgiven, so act like it!” —Aiden Wilson Tozer
  1. But like a muscle, the ability to forgive needs to be exercised and grown over a long period of time.” —Mark Manson
  1. Forgiveness keeps you from being bound by something the other person might never set right.” —Tony Evans
  1. By saying I forgive, someone is letting go of the burden of the problem.” —Estella Eliot
  1. Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.” —Jennifer McMahon
  1. I forgive myself and set myself free.” —Louise Hay
  1. You must forgive your faults and try to move on.” —Unknown
  1. Forgiveness means letting go of the past.” —Gerald Jampolsky
  1. To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” —Robert Muller
  1. I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.” —Khaled Hosseini
  1. Man has two spiritual needs. One for forgiveness and the other for goodness.” —Billy Graham
  1. We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.” —T. D. Jakes
  1. Forgiveness is not an innate attribute, one must choose to show it.” —Unknown
  1. As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.” —Madame de Stael
  1. Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” —C.S. Lewis
  1. How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” —Wayne Dyer
  1. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.” —Kent M. Keith
  1. If you’re not sure on how to forgive, knowing that they’re stupid is a great start.” —Unknown
  1. One’s mistakes don’t define them.” —Unknown
  1. It is not the forgiving that is the hardest, it is to trust them again.” —Unknown
  1. It requires maturity of the highest form to understand and find out the reason behind somebody hurting you.” —Unknown
  1. Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” — Ben Greenhalgh
  1. All major religious traditions carry basically the same message; that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.” —Dalai Lama
  1. Forgiveness is a way to let the other person know you still care for them.” —Unknown
  1. 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.” —Maya Angelou
  1. Forgiveness and compassion stand on the pillars of strength.” —Unknown
  1. A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.” —William Arthur Ward
  1. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” —Paul Boese
  1. None of us should be defined by the worst thing we’ve ever done.” —Kevin R. Duncan
  1. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy, not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.” —Gary Chapman
  1. If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” —Mother Teresa
  1. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart.. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.” —Hannah More
  1. Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim–letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.” —C.R. Strahan
  1. It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” —William Blake
  1. You can do nothing about their actions, but your reaction is something you can gain control over.” —Unknown
  1. A simple way to learn forgiveness is by remembering one’s rights instead of their wrongs.” —
  1. Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you.” —Rick Warren
  1. We ask for forgiveness. And we forgive others who ask us. In that way we can experience healing, healing in our souls.” —Ed Dobson
  1. Forgiving heals a heart, letting grow liberates a heart.” —Unknown
  1. I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge.” —Gerald Jampolsky
  1. They caused the first wound, but you are causing the rest; this is what not forgiving does. They got it started, but you keep it going. Forgive and let it go, or it will eat you alive. You think they made you feel this way, but when you won’t forgive, you are the one inflicting the pain on yourself.” —Bryant H. McGill
  1. Forgive yourself and welcome love back into your life.” —Wayne Dyer
  1. If you want to steal somebody from their power, simply forgive them.” —Unknown
  1. Pride to seek forgiveness and stubbornness to forgive don’t lead the path of peace.” —Unknown
  1. Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life.” —George MacDonald
  1. Knowing what you can do to right your wrong is the most crucial part of seeking forgiveness.” —Unknown
  1. More people should apologize, and more people should accept apologies when sincerely made.” —Greg LeMond
  1. In the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feel like a decision to reward my enemy. But in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is merely a gift from one undeserving soul to another.” —Andy Stanley
  1. I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.” —C.S. Lewis
  1. Always seek less turbulent skies. Hurt. Fly above it. Betrayal. Fly above it. Anger. Fly above it. You are the one who is flying the plane.” —Marianne Williamson
  1. Tell them you still love them, and they will get the message.” —Yoko Ono
  1. Forgiving what we cannot forgive creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” —Lewis B. Smedes
  1. Hating someone makes them important. Forgiving them makes them obsolete.” —Unknown
  1. One can’t expect to be forgiven unless they learn the act of forgiveness themselves.” —Unknown
  1. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” —William Arthur Ward
  1. “How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.” — Publilius Syrus
  1. “We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness.” — Frederick William Robertson

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is forgiveness important?

Forgiving people can help you attain peace and become more compassionate. On the other hand, holding on to grudges can only hurt yourself and affect your physical and mental health. For a healthy relationship, forgiveness is essential and irreplaceable.

2. What is emotional forgiveness?

Emotional forgiveness takes place when a person replaces their negative emotions of unforgiveness with positive emotions. It is the opposite of hollow forgivess, where one offers forgiveness while still holding a grudge (1).

Forgiveness quotes can be shared with loved ones who have harmed you in the past to help you let go of bitterness and thoughts of vengeance. Rather than sending a long message, you can use these quotes to convey the powerful message of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a psychological process in which a person who is victimized may voluntarily change feelings and attitudes towards the one who hurt them. You may accept your inner feelings and develop empathy to forgive someone who unintentionally or intentionally hurt you. The best method to express this emotion and mend relationships is through meaningful quotes.

References

  1. Stephanie Lichtenfeld et al.; (2015); Forgive and Forget: Differences between Decisional and Emotional Forgiveness.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4422736/#:~:text=Emotional%20forgiveness%20is%20the%20replacement
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