Atheism and forgiveness

[Whateverist]

I'm selfish about my forgiveness. I don't forgive someone because they deserve it, I do it because I deserve to let it go and not drive myself crazy about it. I'm speaking of the big things. There are things that have taken me years to forgive. For some of those things the person I'm forgiving is unaware of it because I no longer have a relationship with them, but I feel a hell of a lot better about it.

I agree. It behooves us to move on and not dwell in the past. Of course, so long as the person who did us wrong is in our environment and apt to do it again, forgiveness doesn't have to mean letting our guard down. Sometimes it is better to be a warrior than a saint. But once the battle's been won or lost and there isn't a chance of recurrence, we should focus on getting past it. Grudges take valuable psychic space.