“Forgiveness means, among other things, that we have recognized the ultimate impossibility of putting the past fully “right.” The past is over as an event, even though it still lives with us in its consequences and in our memory. We cannot make it right. Instead, we can choose, as we go on with life, to reuse the past in creating a new future.”

-William Countryman

As someone who has made an irreversible mistake in my past that changed the course of many people’s lives, these words carry tremendous power for me. Once a wrong is committed against someone, there is no complete restoration because the act caused a shift that tainted what once was. It is a crushing feeling to know that when you have hurt someone and then come to your senses about the damage your actions have caused, it is too late to make it right.

The positive things that I do in my life are always driven by my biggest mistake. I feel that the very least I can do is go through my life putting forth a continuous effort to be a good person who never again hurts others by my actions. Kindness and gratitude, exhibited in even the smallest ways, are powerful tools to aid you in living a life you don’t have to apologize for or regret later. We are human, though, and we will make mistakes. The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn something from it and move forward by creating positivity in your