My life, when I look back, has not been easy. One thing I learned was that compassion, a sense of caring, thinking about others' welfare, that sort of mental attitude brings me inner peace.
~ 14th Dalai Lama
Perhaps it's possible to forgive in one grand swoop, but I didn't experience it that way. I did it in bits and pieces. You forgive what you can, when you can. To forgive does not mean overlooking the offense and pretending it never happened. Forgiveness means releasing our rage and our need to retaliate, no longer dwelling on the offense, the offender, and the suffering, and rising to a higher love. It is an act of letting go so that we can go on.