(Re) Introduction

Heartman

Hello all!

I'd like to re-introduce myself after being away from this site for some time. My name is Heartman and I'm a guitarist and forgiveness advocate. I was diagnosed with psychosis in my mid-twenties; as you can imagine it's been a long journey since! I enjoy the outdoors, reading and going to church. I run a Facebook group about forgiveness and I love to read about the topic.
Thanks for reading and I hope that you are all well.

Heartman

Bluebell21

Welcome back @Heartman Thank you for telling us your story. I am not too bad thanks. I hope you enjoy your time on the forum. Any questions just ask. Take care.

luvpink

@Heartman welcome back.

Hope you are keeping as well as you can be.

Jimm_Scope

Hey @Heartman, welcome back 🙂 Forgiveness really can be a big part of life, and I think it can really help people. What are some things you've learnt about it since you started you became an advocate for it and starting your facebook group?

Heartman

Since stumbling upon this mysterious virtue we call Forgiveness i've learnt that it's messy, open to interpretation, forgiveness can be fluid, that it grows out of damage, found where there is injustice and it cuts peoples opinions down the middle like a knife.

Thank you for the kind welcome.

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Heartman and welcome back! I'd love to know more about your thoughts on forgiveness if that's ok? 😊 Do you draw a line anywhere or do you think everyone should be forgiven no matter what they've done?

Thanks in advance!

Heartman

Hello @Rachel_Scope !

I love having conversations about forgiveness so you're more than welcome to ask. You have, however, chosen probably the most difficult question to answer regarding forgiveness 😉Is anybody "beyond the pale"? I'm having to pause momentarily and think of my answer, it does help to consider the darker side of forgiveness for a moment - forgiveness can often be overly promoted and pushed onto people in an unhelpful way. Furthermore, the internet is awash with syrupy dogma surrounding the subject.

There are those such as the late archbishop Desmond Tutu who strongly stood firmly in the camp that even the most heinous acts perpetrated by humans can be forgiven. A man of massive faith who was one of the worlds biggest advocates of forgiveness. Conversely, I am reading a book at the moment, written by a vicar, called "Unforgiveable" which examines the limits of forgiveness and in the end concludes that there really are unforgiveable acts.

Myself (as you addressed me directly), I stand somewhere in between the two camps. I think forgiveness is a useful tool that can help the victims of unjust harm, one that can bring peace to both victim and perpetrator, but one that is not always appropriate. Sometimes holding a "good grudge" is the right thing; the great Simon Wiesenthal who dedicated his life to hunting down the remaining Nazis knew this.

Heartman