Forgiving Them/Forgiving Ourselves

"Survivors will always cry for the missed chance, for the waste of potential, for the hindsight that proves so illuminating now that it is too late. I will always be filled with regret, I will always wish for a happy ending. But I am the keeper of his memory and so I must be whole. I must accept that I could not have stopped him from doing what he desired, that I could not have altered time.

Have I forgiven him? I forgive him many times a day. And what about myself? When the pain of remorse assaults me, I remember that I loved him very much. I also remember some wise advice: I turn around and walk away, but this time from my own guilt and shame. As I begin not only to move on but also to grown and flourish, I am aware I will be forgiving both him and myself continually for the rest of my life."

Quoted loosely from No Time to Say Goodbye by Carla Fine