150 Forgiveness Quotes to Inspire You to Forgive and Move Ahead in Life

Forgiveness is a conscious internal process and deliberate decision to let go the grudge towards individuals. This includes releasing the thoughts and feelings of resentment, anger, bitterness, sourness and the desires for revenge, punishment and retribution towards group or someone; who we believe has harmed us, including ourselves. Being able to forgive is one of the healthiest emotions in the universe. Here are some of the best forgiveness quotes to inspire you to forgive and move ahead in life.

Forgiveness Quotes

1. “By forgiving you don’t forgive the person who did something wrong but you forgive yourself. Yes, you read it correctly. You forgive yourself.” ~ Invajy

2. “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” ~ Alexander Pope

3. “Forgive yourself , again and again, as many times as it takes to find peace of mind.” ~ Invajy

4. “Always Keep in mind that it’s usually in your best interest to forgive people.” ~ Invajy

5. “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” ~ Bryant H. McGill

6. “Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.” ~ Isaac Friedmann

7. “Forgiveness is for yourself, understanding this will ease the path of let go.” ~ Invajy
8. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
9. “Mastering the art of forgiveness plays a crucial role in happiness and quality of your life.” ~ Invajy
10. “You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” ~ Guy Finley

Forgive Yourself Quotes

11. “Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.” ~ Oscar Wilde
12. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” ~ Steve Maraboli
13. “When we go back in to the past and rake up all the troubles we’ve had, we end up reeling and staggering through life. Stability and peace of mind come by living in the moment.” ~ Pam W. Vredevelt
14. “Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.” ~ Suzanne Somers
15. “When you are happy you can forgive a great deal.” ~ Princess Diana

16. “I never forgive, but I always forget.” ~ Arthur Balfour
17. “Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.”~ George Bernard Shaw
18. “Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.”~ Ausonius
19. “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”~ C.S. Lewis
20. “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” ~ Maya Angelou

Quotes about Forgiveness

21. “Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else; it’s something you do for yourself. To forgive is not to condone, it is to refuse to continue feeling bad about an injury.” ~ Jim Beaver
22. “Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.” ~ Louise L. Hay
23. “Forgive those who have hurt you.” ~ Les Brown
24. “Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge.” ~ Scott Adams
25. “You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” ~ Jan Glidewell
26. “I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note – torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher
27. “To confer dignity, forgive. To express contempt, forget.” ~ Mason Cooley
28. “Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.”~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.
29. “Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” ~ Ivern Ball
30. “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” ~ Marvin J. Ashton

Forgive and Forget Quotes

31. “People have to forgive. We don’t have to like them, we don’t have to be friends with them, we don’t have to send them hearts in text messages, but we have to forgive them, to overlook, to forget. Because if we don’t we are tying rocks to our feet, too much for our wings to carry!” ~ C. Joybell C.
32. “If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.” ~ Robert Brault
33. “Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours.” ~ Philips Brooks
34. “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.”~ Thomas Szasz
35. “Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.”~ Robert Jordan
36. “Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity.” ~ Mackenzie Phillips
37. “Forgiveness is that subtle thread that binds both love and friendship. Without forgiveness, you may not even have a child one day.” ~ George Foreman
38. “Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life.” ~ George MacDonald
39. “Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past.” ~ T.D. Jakes
40. “Forgiveness is the final form of love.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Best Forgiveness Quotes

41. “To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” ~ G.K. Chesterton
42. “Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.” ~ Emma Goldman
43. “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” ~ Bruce Lee
44. “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.” ~ Francis of Assisi
45. “Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.” ~ Robert Frost
46. “Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.” ~ J.K. Rowlin
47. “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. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
48. “The remedy for life’s broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don’t try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive.” ~ Iyanla Vanzant
49. “Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.” ~ Les Brown
50. “And you know, when you’ve experienced grace and you feel like you’ve been forgiven, you’re a lot more forgiving of other people. You’re a lot more gracious to others.” ~ Rick Warren

What is Forgiveness?

51. “Forgiveness is God’s greatest gift” ~ Dan Brown
52. “Forgiveness isn’t approving what happened. It’s choosing to rise above it.” ~ Robin Sharma
53. “Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.” ~ Desmond Tutu
54. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ~ Mark Twain
55. “Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.” ~ Gerald G. Jampolsky
56. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
57. “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” ~ Marianne Williamson
58. “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
59. “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” ~ Marianne Williamson
60. “One forgives to the degree that one loves.” ~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Quotes about Forgiveness

61. “To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.” ~ David Small
62. “He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven.” ~ George Herbert
63. “Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.” ~ Billy Graham
64. “Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” ~ Jane Austen
65. “Life is an adventure in forgiveness.” ~ Norman Cousins
66. “Sins cannot be undone, only forgiven.” ~ Igor Stravinsky
67. “If there are occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart.” ~ Jesse Jackson
68. “I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.” ~ Catherine the Great
69. “Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.” ~ Jean Paul
70. “There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” ~ Josh Billings

Forgiveness Quotes

71. “The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.” ~ Elbert Hubbard
72. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ~ Nelson Mandela
73. “One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything, every night before you go to bed.” ~ Bernard Baruch
74. “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
75. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes

76. “We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.” ~ Sir Francis Bacon
77. “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” ~ Anne Lamott
78. “We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness.” ~ Frederick William Robertson
79. “When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.” ~ Alan Paton
80. “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” ~ Robert Muller

To Forgive Quotes

81. “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You’re done.” ~ Anne Lamott
82. “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” ~ Oscar Wilde
83. “If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.” ~ Nelson Mandela
84. “It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him.” ~ Jewel
85. “Forgiveness provides hope, joy, and a bright future that nothing else can.” ~ Paul J. Meyer
86. “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” ~ Steve Maraboli
87. “A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.”~ Stephen Richards
88. “God’s forgiveness allows us to be honest with ourselves. We recognize our imperfections, admit our failures, and plead to God for clemency.” ~ Jonathan Sacks
89. “Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” ~ Hannah Arendt
90. “You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness Quotes

91. “We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.” ~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld
92. “Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.” ~ Deborah Reber
93. “Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.” ~ Criss Jami
94. “When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.” ~ John Krakauer
95. “We don’t forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it—because we need it.” ~ Bree Despain
96. “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.” ~ William Paul Young
97. “As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.” ~ Isabelle Holland
98. “To understand is to forgive, even oneself.” ~ Alexander Chase
99. “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” ~ Paul Boose
100. “I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people.” ~ John Lewis

Inspiring Forgiveness Quotes

101. “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
102. “Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.” ~ Jonathan Huie
103. “God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher
104. “Choosing forgiveness opens the door of your heart and makes way for a miracle in your life.” ~ Victoria Osteen
105. “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” ~ Jane Austen
106. “But if you forgive someone for something they did to you, it doesn’t mean you agree with what they did or believe it was right. Forgiving that person means you have chosen not to dwell on the matter anymore; you have moved on with your life.” ~ Idowu Koyenikan
107. “Forgiveness takes time. It is the last step of the grieving process.” ~ Elin Nordegren
108. “There is freedom in forgiveness, and it’s not that hard to do once you get into the habit.” ~ Dana Perino
109. “As we know, forgiveness of oneself is the hardest of all the forgivenesses.” ~ Joan Baez
110. “It’s said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies – because you never know when you’ll have to work with them.” ~ Lana Turner

Quotes on Forgiveness

111. “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” ~ Jessica Lange
112. “Forgiveness really is so misunderstood, as well as the power it can release in an individual.” ~ Jennifer O’Neill
113. “I find forgiveness to be really healthy.” ~ Ben Affleck
114. “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom
115. “It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him.” ~ Olin Miller
116. “The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person.” ~ Louise L. Hay
117. “God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won’t.” ~ Alfred Korzybski
118. “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.”~ Confucius
119. “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” ~ Ben Greenhalgh
120. “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

Power of Forgiveness Quotes

121. “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are.” ~ Cherie Carter Scott
122. “Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace.” ~ Leo Tolstoy
123. “A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.” ~ William Arthur Ward
124. “Developing empathy is a necessary and important step in forgiveness.” ~ Invajy
125. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” ~ William Arthur Ward
126. “It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.” ~ Steve Maraboli
127. “True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment.” ~ David Ridge
128. “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” ~ William Blake
129. “Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.” ~ Marlene Dietrich
130. “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” ~ Katherine Ponder

Forgiveness Quotes

131. “The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy.” ~ William Hazlitt
132. “It is surely better to pardon too much, than to condemn too much.” ~ George Eliot
133. “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
134. “Forgiveness is like faith. You have to keep reviving it.” ~ Mason Cooley
135. “I think the first step is to understand that forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It’s a gift you give yourself.” ~ T.D. Jakes
136. “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
137. “Forgiveness means to let go of hatred, instead of allowing it to eat at you.” ~ Invajy
138. “Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” ~ Roberto Assagioli
139. “How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.” ~ Publilius Syrus
140. “I’m all about preaching forgiveness and compassion.” ~ Michel de la Montaigne

Forgiveness Quotes

141. “Forgotten is forgiven.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
142. “Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” ~ Desmond Tutu
143. “Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again.” ~ St. Augustine
144. “Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again.” ~ Dag Hammarskjold
145. “True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’” ~ Oprah Winfrey
146. “We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell
147. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” ~ John F. Kennedy
148. “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
149. “Forgiveness is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself. If you can’t learn to forgive, you can forget about achieving true success in your life.” ~ Invajy
150. “Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.” ~ Rick Warren

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