The words themselves are not enough to ensure forgiveness; they mark the recognition of the harmful behavior, to be followed by the work of not engaging in it further and making restitution for the damage it has done. That last is the tricky part, easy to fail (easy to see the failures all over the news these days). But the words are not unimportant. They are accountability. They are the consenting. They are looking at your life and deciding if these actions, this memory, is what you wish to outlive you. All you have is the world and the way you leave it.
no subject
This is really beautiful, thank you.