“A day to forgive others and resolve conflict”

Interaction with others and among nations can frequently require the call for forgiveness, writes Harnoor Gill, 17, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Georgetown in Canada, who recommends practicing forgiveness every day.

Forgiveness is defined as the action of being able to forgive others as well as being forgiven yourself. As people interact with others around them, there are times where certain people either don’t get along with each other or don’t enjoy the presence of one another. This is completely normal, but the people who are able to forgive others for being sad or angry with them are the real winners. Being able to forgive someone for something they have done to you is extremely hard to do, but it makes you the better person as you take the initiative to forgive and forget.

In fact, our world is always full of unresolved conflicts, whether it’s on an international basis between two countries or at home between your siblings or parents. Conflict can even be at the local level, between two different communities regarding certain laws being put into effect. These angry thoughts tend to turn into angry words, which eventually turn into angry actions. Often the best way to reduce conflict is through open discussion about differences. This is usually our best attempt to resolve any type of conflict that we experience. Forgiveness allows us to not only deal with, but also look past, all the hurt and consequences a person may experience.

Every day should be a day for humans to forgive and forget mishaps or arguments. Every day we should look beyond the scope of conflict toward confronting our differences. Global Forgiveness Day is celebrated every year on July 7^th and is a chance to set things right. It’s a real deal-breaker to finally set the old differences aside and to move beyond the grievances. The chance for a fresh start and a clean slate is the perfect variable in setting the equation right.

In my personal experience, I am just like any other person who walked this Earth and experienced conflict at some point in my own life. Although at times I have been angry about the outcome, it’s always important to put differences aside as arguing never leads to a satisfying end result. I remember getting into a conflict when I was younger. It was a silly thing about sharing my new Lego set when I brought it to school. Of course, I was quite taken aback at the time when I approached the lunch table to realize my friend was playing with my Lego set without having first asked me. I got annoyed and this little feud resulted in us both being confronted by a teacher. I was reminded of the old saying that “sharing is caring”, and if he was my friend then it shouldn’t be a problem to let him play with my toys.

After the confrontation about that particular conflict, I decided to apologize to my friend for my outburst about his using my Lego set when I wasn’t there. I forgave him for what he did, and in turn he forgave me about my anger towards him. Being able to forgive each other created a strong bond between us and we still both laugh about that incident today.

As a teenager, I know it can be hard to meet certain expectations, or to constantly act in a perfect manner towards others. As teenagers, it’s not our fault entirely. But our inner and outer conflicts can only be confronted and resolved through the solution of forgiveness. Be sure to forgive and forget any second of the minute, hour, day, week, month or year!

Photo: http://mrg.bz/3VqU1c

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About me: I am a student in Georgetown, Canada, and founder of the Peace Welcome Club. I love to volunteer, read, write, and play basketball. I volunteer with local environmental and youth organizations and am dedicated to raising awareness about youth volunteering. My writing has been published in Indo-Canadian Voice, Asian Journal, Times of India, The Independent & Free Press, and in Amazing Kids! Magazine.

https://www.facebook.com/PeaceWelcomeClub

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response.
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/commonwealthcorrespondents/

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