60+ Forgiveness Quotes to Move On from Resentment into Freedom

Forgiveness is often debated. Especially when we've been wronged, it agitates us. We think that they don't deserve it and therefore we must keep resenting them.

But, forgiveness is about freedom, it's about letting off weight, it's about clearing the clutter and healing. Forgiveness is about your peace of mind so that you give energy to the things that make your life beautiful.

So, in this post, you will find forgiveness quotes to help you forgive others and yourself. Yes, forgiveness is not limited to other people only. It's for you too. In fact, it is supremely important to practice self-forgiveness, so that we may become better.

Forgiveness Quotes to Forgive Others

“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

“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.”
― Marianne Williamson

“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

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

Forgiveness leads to healing. So, here are some healing affirmations that help you strengthen yourself and bring more forgiveness into your life:

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
― Nelson Mandela

“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”
― Confucius

“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

“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

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”
― Nelson Mandela

“To forgive is wisdom, to forget is genius. And easier. Because it's true. It's a new world every heartbeat.”
― Joyce Cary

“But we can't go back. We can only go forward.”
― Libba Bray

“Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.”
― Wm. Paul Young

“There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that.”
― Mark Twain

“Always forgive, but never forget, else you will be a prisoner of your own hatred and doomed to repeat your mistakes forever.”
― Wil Zeus

“Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.”
― Emma Goldman

“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

“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are.”
― Cherie Carter-Scott

“We don't forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it—because we need it.”
― Bree Despain

“No matter how much you love someone—the capacity of that love is meaningless if it outweighs your capacity to forgive.”
― Colleen Hoover

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
― Lewis B. Smedes

“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

“A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.”
― William Arthur Ward

“Forgiveness is the only way to reverse the irreversible flow of history.”
― Hannah Arendt

“You can have compassion without forgiving. There are many ways to move on, and pretending to feel a certain way isn’t one of them.”
― Lori Gottlieb

“Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You're done. It doesn't necessarily mean that you want to have lunch with the person. If you keep hitting back, you stay trapped in the nightmare...”
― Anne Lamott

“It is surely better to pardon too much than to condemn too much.”
― George Eliot

“There is a hard law. When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.”
― Alan Paton

“I wasted a lot of time being angry, time I can't get back. And now I see you, so angry about what happened to your marriage, and I just want to tell you, at some point, it doesn't matter who was right and who was wrong. At some point, being angry is just another bad habit, like smoking, and you keep poisoning yourself without thinking about it.”
― Jonathan Tropper

“In this life, when you deny someone an apology, you will remember it at the time you beg forgiveness.”
― Toba Beta

“It's all very well to tell us to forgive our enemies; our enemies can never hurt us very much. But oh, what about forgiving our friends?”
― Willa Cather

“You cannot forgive just once, forgiveness is a daily practice.”
― Sonia Rumzi

“Forgiveness means saying that you're not going to let what happened to you define you any longer.”
― Heidi Priebe

Forgiveness takes intelligence, discipline, imagination, and persistence, as well as a special psychological strength, something athletes call mental toughness and warriors call courage.”
― Edward M. Hallowell

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”
― Reinhold Niebuhr

“There is hope in forgiveness”
― John Piper

“The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.”
― Catherine Ponder

“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”
― Hannah More

Forgiveness Quotes To Forgive Yourself

“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

“A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.”
― Linda Sue Park

“Letting ourselves be forgiven is one of the most difficult healings we will undertake. And one of the most fruitful.”
― Stephen Levine

“Forgiveness is the one gift you don't give to others. Rather, it is the gift you give yourself, so you can finally be free.”
― Shannon Alder

“Life is so short. The only person you hurt when you stay angry or hold grudges is you. Forgive everyone, including yourself.”
― Tom Giaquinto

“Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.”
― Jennifer McMahon

“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.”
― Steve Maraboli

“6 Ways To Give Your Mind A Break:
1. Stop stressing
2. Stop worrying
3. Give rest to the problems weighing you down
4. Lighten up
5. Forgive yourself
6. Forgive others”
― Germany Kent

“Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself, and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive.”
― Brittany Burgunder

“If I hadn't forgiven myself, I wouldn't be strong enough to love someone this much.”
― Dawn Lanuza

“Forgiveness is not just what we receive; it is also what we give - to ourselves.”
― Ogwo David Emenike

“Forgive yourself as you strive to be your best self.”
― Angel Moreira

“You need to learn to forgive yourself first.”
― Nicholas Sparks

“The best way to calm the anxious mind is to forgive yourself and others.”
― Debasish Mridha

“Through one's tears for the past, one's future becomes blurred.”
― Criss Jami

“Forgive someone today. Especially if that someone is you.”
― Gina Greenlee

“Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“Forgive yourself. The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you’ve created in your own life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows.”
— Miguel Ángel Ruiz Macías

“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.”
— Maya Angelou

“We all make mistakes, don’t we? But if you can’t forgive yourself, you’ll always be an exile in your own life.”
– Curtis Sittenfeld

“Our sorrows and wounds are only healed when we touch them with compassion.”
– Buddha

“Love is forgiving, accepting, moving on, embracing, and all-encompassing. And if you’re not doing that for yourself, you cannot do that with anyone else.”
― Steve Maraboli

👉 Continue Reading: 100 Gratitude Quotes For a Grateful Life

Aarushi Tewari

The writer and affirmations speaker at Gratitude, Aarushi believes that one of the most effective ways of feeling inner peace is by being grateful and having a loving self-relationship.