Our Broken World: A series of ever-changing opinions

What is Forgiveness?

     We can say 'it's fine' or 'don't worry about it' anytime someone messes up, and if we say we forgive them, forgive ourselves, is that necessarily true?

     To say that all is forgiven does not stop the hurt or the damage caused by one's actions, just a reassurance that it is not a problem that need to burden any party for any reason, leaving it in the awkward zone between 'okay' and 'not okay'. Doing something that need beg for forgiveness should not be an everyday occurrence, much less for the same reason. There has to be a point where it all stops, there should be a point, but how far would we be willing to go for love or security or assurance? To hang onto that illusion, or the hope that it will get better?

     As humans, I have no doubt in our potential, for we have developed the intelligence needed to dedicate ourselves to something other than survival, but with that has also caused problems that could never have been guessed. All we have is this species to base everything off of; there were no texts of paintings or other works made by other intelligent life forms that we know of, and it makes this planet feel lonely, so when we as humans started to 'grow up' we were prone to many errors, ones that we have made time and time again.

     For instance, humans have bought and sold other humans (and disgustingly, still do, granted to a lesser extent), dug up irreplaceable fossil fuels, started wars so easily among our own for a large expanse of reasons, many irrational, among many other things. We have learned to pride ourselves on individual knowledge, and it can lead to hurt in many cases, tearing others down so that we may rise, in many case. So when will it stop, if ever? How can we keep going on like this, hoping to get better when not nearly enough people are willing to change themselves, much less enact it? How can we forgive ourselves for such selfishness?

     People are not inherently good or evil, but we, along with all other spices, are built to survive; that means most often putting ourselves before others. Sadly, this worry of not being able to survive has carried through generations, even though it is far less prevalent now, is still the most major causes for problems like wars, poverty, and any kind of rivalry anywhere, even in one's own house.

     If this selfishness is what keeps us going, why is it viewed as such a bad thing? On a personal level, many people I know personally put others before themselves without hesitation, but in the grand scheme of things, companies are there to make profit, not to help people, trade agreements act as a mutual benefactor for both sides, and economic profit is how success is measured across the world. How did we get so deep into this mess, that it is just expected to be the norm? How are we so keen on helping the people we know, but can get bent so out of shape when a stranger says something we don't like?

     As humanity, we need to hold ourselves responsible for this disorderly world, but would it also be possible to forgive ourselves? Each other? Are we even deserving of forgiveness? Why would we do that, and how?

     How can we learn to forgive ourselves?