“Who was it who said that forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a different past?”

“Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past.”

“Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.”

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”

“Forgiveness is not a matter of exonerating people who have hurt you. They may not deserve exoneration. Forgiveness means cleansing your soul of the bitterness of ‘what might have been,’ ‘what should have been,’ and ‘what didn’t have to happen.’ Someone has defined forgiveness as ‘giving up all hope of having had a better past.’ What’s past is past and there is little to be gained by dwelling on it. There are perhaps no sadder people then the men and women who have a grievance against the world because of something that happened years ago and have let that memory sour their view of life ever since.”

“Forgiveness is.... giving up the hope that you can change the past.”