Thursday, March 29, 2012

Forgiveness

How do we teach our children to forgive?  When they may be faced with bullying, teachers who will not challenge them in school, being picked last for the team on the playground, unkind taunts of other children, or a multitude of hurts, how do we teach them that they need to forgive the perpetrators or carry the pain with them for a lifetime?  Maybe the above quote is a great way to do it.  Maybe we teach our children that to forgive lets us gain peace instead of carrying around the pain.  It doesn't mean that what the person did was okay, it just means that we are not going to give that person the power to hurt us anymore.  We instill in our children a sense of self worth and the feeling that no one has the power to diminish them.  As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission."