Forgiveness Quotes
“An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.”
-Lynn Johnston
“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”
-Josh Billings
“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”
-Confucius
“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.”
-Dr. Sidney Simon
“To understand all is to forgive all.”
-French Proverb
“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.
“Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives.”
-Lawana Blackwell
“I never hold grudges; while you’re holding grudges, they’re out dancing!”
-Buddy Hackett
“Forgiveness is the profound and refreshing relief that comes when you release an expectation that has been causing you to suffer.”
– Mary Hayes Grieco
“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
“True forgiveness is when you can say ‘Thank you for that experience’.”
—Oprah Winfrey
“Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.”
-Anonymous
“Bitterness is the poison we swallow, while hoping the other person dies.”
-Skip Gray
“Forgiveness is giving up all hopes of a better past.”
-Petrea King
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
-Cherie Carter-Scott
“Our friends are those who know their own faults well enough to forgive us ours.”
-Moulton Farnham
”He who angers you conquers you.”
-Elizabeth Kenny
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
-Paul Lewis Boese
”Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured.”
-Ann Landers
“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I cannot forgive.”
-Henry Ward Beecher
“Without forgiveness, there’s no future.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.”
—John Connolly
“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“To understand is to forgive, even oneself.”
—Alexander Chase
“Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.”
-Thomas Jones
“I refuse to let any man belittle my soul by making me hate him.”
-Booker T. Washington
“Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; Revenging one makes you but even with him; Forgiving it sets you above him.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is an attitude.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.”
-Isabelle Holland
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
-Nelson Mandela
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
“You don’t have to accept the invitation to get angry. Instead, practice forgiveness, empathy and encouragement.”
-Dan Fallon
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
—Lewis B. Smedes
“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”
—Bruce Lee
“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.”
– Hannah Arendt
“Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
—Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
How can you use Quotes?
- Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.
- Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.
- Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.
- Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.
- Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.
- Make it fun: You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.