Interesting thread. For a very long time I struggled with the idea of forgiveness. Not that I wanted to hold on to the betrayal and hurt that was caused me and my kids - it's just that I didn't know what forgiveness looked like.
Is it the Disney-movie-like or Hollyweird idea that we forgive and all go on fishing trips together (a la Demi Moore and her two exes?) or does it mean that I forgive and no longer hold it against the ex and OP?
People often say that forgiveness is for myself. But honestly, I don't think that's all there is to it. Nor do I think that we need to "all just get along" with one another in the sense we do things together.
And none of that begins until the ex goes away, right? If we have kids, that may be much longer than we'd like and the danger of that is that we get into a "routine" of hatred and unresolved anger toward somebody that betrayed us. That doesn't work for me. It says I'm a victim and it says I can't control me. It says that the most important thing in my life is the dream I had of a family and after that I'm nothing and a failure.
I'm not nothing and I'm not a failure and I'm not defined by my 20 year marriage. It's a part of my life, but it's not what makes my life worth living, friends.
The OP? Who knows why they did what they did? Did they know? If they did, would they have done the same? If they didn't should we still be angry? It could have been us (thanks fig, for highlighting that.) They could be far more broken than we give them credit for. <shrug> Not sure it matters to be honest.
We were betrayed. Some of us betrayed others. People do that. Do we forgive and forget? Can we when they continue to assert their anger at us?
The answer is yes, I do forgive my ex and the OP. And to be honest, I forgave myself first and then OP and ex. My ex still tries to assert anger and drama for reasons I cannot possibly understand.
Like many of us here, I've been accused of all manner of things I've never done. I don't know why. My ex has stated she doesn't want to be forgiven. I dunno why. My daughter is angry and takes it out on me. I really don't know why.
Would I want to go on trips with them? Not really. I don't like either of them as people outside of the actions toward myself and my family. I honestly do not. But I have forgiven them for what they did to me and my family.
That seems enough anger, betrayal and hurt for all of us.
My kids deserve to learn what forgiveness means and what it looks like. So does the OM and my ex. So do I.
I think part of the issue is trying to figure out what forgiveness really means, vs. what pop culture tells us it means. I doubt I'll forget, but I don't have to hold it against them either. It happens (which is why we're here, right?)
OT, it's always nice to hear the challenges.
Peace,
AJ