It is true that forgiveness is not easy, but as you said, it's not about justifying what they did, but about freeing ourselves from the weight of resentment. Here in Venezuela, especially at a political level due to all the harm they cause us, we know that life can be tough, and resentment only traps us in a cycle of pain, anguish, and also stress.
Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves. It doesn't mean we have to accept those people back into our lives, but we can choose not to carry that resentment. At the end of the day, health is the most important thing, and stress affects us more than we realize.
For more than 30 years, I held a lot of resentment towards my father because he abandoned us. But one day, when I had my daughter, my life changed, and when I had my second daughter, they would always ask about their grandfather with excitement about wanting to meet him. Thanks to them, I learned to forgive him and to forgive myself. Later, on a trip I made to the city where my father lived, I took my daughters to meet him. I couldn't take away their right to know him. I believe that on that day, I truly forgave him. By the way, I never told or shared with my daughters my pain towards my father.
I can understand that resentment towards your father and I'm glad you managed to let go of that. It's interesting how it's often our own children that help us change our perspective to take that step.
I can understand that. It's not their burden, after all, so they don't need to feel like they should shoulder it.
I love this. A very good perspective to have in such a tough situation