While forgiveness can lead to healing, it can also keep you stuck.
When it comes to others, you can’t force people to accept responsibility. You can’t make someone feel regret, remorse, or empathy. Given your lack of control, you can’t make someone forgive for their actions. I struggled with this a lot as a very empathetic child and just learning to accept people as they are over the years made be content with this.
With this also comes the notion that you can’t force someone to accept your forgiveness. If a behavior or action has harmed someone, you can’t force someone to accept your forgiveness. Personally, I feel like this can lead to very manipulative and abusive behaviors. Everyone has the right to process anything within their own timeframe, even if that is a lifetime.
