From Resentment to Forgiveness

We all want to be happy. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to happiness for most people is resentment. It’s easy to see how widespread this problem is: just notice the critical tone of so many conversations, the anger, the complaints and lamentations, the excuses, negative thoughts, frustrations, the distancing of person from person, family divisions, marriage breakdowns, eagerness for vindication or vengeance, labor disputes, social problems, even conflicts between nations. This short book confronts this problem, studies it, and offers solutions to resolve it. The study of forgiveness is a difficult matter, but it is even more difficult to live this virtue in practice. At the same time, it is one of the most important resources for the attainment of happiness, because it can resolve, in a fundamental way, the principal obstacle to happiness: resentment.