USA

"It is through forgiveness that I have repossessed what was stolen from me and put it back where it rightfully belongs."

"I soon found out that forgiveness was the hardest word to say in public."

"Forgiveness won’t change the past, but it can change the present, which is where the future starts."

"In that instant, I realized how much negative energy it takes to hold hatred inside of you."

"I choose to forgive her for my own health and happiness and to free myself from mental angst and bondage."

"We decided we needed to reach out and get to know our neighbours, making contributions to our community and learning together."

"In the past I’d always perceived him as this horrible man who didn’t understand or care for me, but now I just saw a father who loved his son."

"Softly the answer came; ‘forgiveness is mine to give, his reaction is irrelevant’."

"I knew the only way to get past what had happened so that it would no longer dictate my life was to forgive him."

"The missing step was embracing my anger in a healthy way."

"So please honour Jesse’s memory by consciously changing an angry thought into a loving one, to make this a better world."

"To borrow from Harold Kushner, forgiveness is first and foremost a way of seeing. It cannot change the facts about the world we live in but it can change the way we see those facts."

"The abuse remains embedded within my people. It is very difficult to step outside the historical trauma that perpetuates."

"That brand of forgiveness was for extremists who went on Oprah."

"It was such a healing poem all about the commonality of pain and it showed me my destiny."

"Forgiveness is not about forgiving the act but forgiving the imperfections which are inherent in all of us."

"Lots of things in life are senseless. There’s so much we can’t explain but we need to be able to love the questions."

"My mission now is to work with Johnny to offer a story of healing, forgiveness and restoration in the hope of inspiring others."

"I wanted to know what type of kid would do this?"

"Forgiveness is a sublime example of humanity that I explore at every opportunity."

"I had forgiven Charles, not condoned what he did. And I was still afraid of him."

"The greatest compassion I’ve ever experienced is when I spoke at a synagogue and a Jewish Holocaust survivor came up to me and said they forgave me."

"In the end, forgiveness released me from the hate that was consuming me."

"Forgiving my attacker was easy...But forgiving myself for what happened took me 25 years."

"I told them that killing these boys will not bring my family back."

"I knew that if something didn’t change I would be in the graveyard, dead from a broken heart, next to my little daughter."

"The Huikahi Restorative Circle helped me go places I’ve never been before, take steps I’ve never taken."

"I wanted to go to court for justice – not revenge."

"Meeting Aicha gave me strength and took away my anger and bitterness."

"The more you communicate the more difficult it is to commit violence, because you’re no longer isolated or wearing a mask."

"Initially I was unable to entertain any thought of forgiveness, but slowly I came to realize that bitterness only creates bitterness."

"We believe that in every crime there is an opportunity to improve society by learning how to prevent that crime from happening again."

"Our goal is to honor Daniel with acts of hope, and not mar our memory of him with anger or hatred or despair."

"About a year before the execution I found it in my heart to forgive Tim McVeigh. It was a release for me rather than for him."

"The most difficult thing in all this is being able to forgive myself."

"My anger is entirely directed towards myself for turning my back on my son when he needed me most."

"I’m refusing to fall in line with what 'they' want, which is visceral hatred between two sides; this gives me permission to reconcile."