Lesson+5

Forgiveness Education: Healing Through the Heroic Gift of Forgiveness

Lesson 5-The Gift of Forgiveness

"To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee."-William H. Walton

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."-Confucius

Objectives: We can..... -learn some of the emotional, physical, and psychological consequences of unhealthy anger -understand that forgiveness has the power to heal and allows us to overcome our anger and pain -know that forgiveness is an unearned gift of agape love for both the forgiving and forgiven person -identify and examine our own feelings of unhealthy anger from an injury of injustice

__Unhealthy anger__-anger that is disproportionate to the cause, is not directed at the person who has injured us but at innocent bystanders, lingers long after the event, causes self-destructive behavior, or destroys families, marriages, and communities (Robert Enright)

__ Anger X Ray __ 1. Recall one specific injury or patter of injuries caused by one person. Perhaps a childhood injury or one that deeply hurt you more recently. Who caused the injury? If this person has caused you a series of hurts, what was the first one that really stands out to you? 2. Now describe the details of the incident. When did this take place? Describe what you remember of the details of that particular incident. 3. How did you deal with the pain of the incident? Were you angry, hostile, resentful, bitter, vengeful? 4. How does it make you feel now as you recall the incident?

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