Forgiveness

Forgiveness is as valuable to the one forgiven as to the one who forgives.Amish proverb
I got this proverb in an email. It made me think about forgiveness. What does it mean to forgive? I have had many people tell me what forgiveness is, their definition, their opinion, but I never thought about my own interpretation to this word, emotion, and attribute. I have been told I am a forgiving person, that I just forgive, let bygones be bygones, and accept their apology or non apology. Frankly, I am tired of talking about things that people have done wrong to me in my past. That is all I focus on, that is all anyone wants to focus on. Yes, I have had a terrible past, been abused, ridiculed, hurt, and tormented by lots of people. Up until just recently, I’ve lived in my past. Not looking forward to my future, to my possibilities, goals, dreams, hopes, and the things that are me. I am finally discovering this, and strangely I am at peace with everything that is around me. Even the fact, I will be alone on my birthday. My friends are going to be either out of town or doing something else, my family will be in Arizona for my nephew’s graduation. I decided, instead of feeling blue, disappointed, hurt, or anything I am going to make it special for me. I am going to make myself a fabulous dinner, and watch movies all weekend, since my birthday is a weekend. If anyone out there has any suggestions for movies to watch, let me know?