Forgiveness: How to learn to forgive mistakes and become strong

A special encounter in the Neflental valley

In the Neflental valley, the days in spring often begin with rays of sunshine gliding gently through the mist. Small, purple and yellow flowers glow everywhere in the violet glade. The soft green leaves shimmer, and fine dew lies on the leaves like glittering pearl grey. The sun hits the ancient statue in the centre of the clearing directly in the stone eyes. It is as if it is greeting every visitor in a friendly manner.

A mishap in the violet glade

On one of these spring days, Rosa Periwinkle is walking through the wet grass. Suddenly she spots a beautiful butterfly. Out of sheer joy, she jumps after it, not paying enough attention to her feet. She stumbles and falls into the middle of a bed of delicate crocuses. Many of the flowers fall over. She immediately feels sad and guilty because the colourful flowers are now lying in a mess.

Another inhabitant of the Neflental passes by. She stops because she sees what has happened. "You've trampled my favourite flowers!" she shouts. Rosa is startled and feels a twinge in her stomach. She should have been more careful.

The path to forgiveness

Rosa jumps up. She says: "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to break anything." She looks hesitantly at the flowers. Rosa wishes she hadn't chased the butterfly. But she also realises that everyone makes mistakes. She asks: "Can I help you put the violets and crocuses back up again?"

Together, the two of them try to carefully erect the small flowers. They pick some wild blades of grass as supports. While they work, the other talks about the colours of the spring flowers and why they mean so much to her.

After a while, they are both laughing again. The sun fights its way through the last wafts of mist. The statue seems to wink at them and the light in the violet glade gets brighter and brighter.

A walk in the ice rose garden

In the late afternoon, cool winds from the north invite them to the popular ice rose garden. Thousands of roses bloom there in the middle of spring behind crackling panes of ice. The delicate flowers shine as if an artist had conjured them out of crystal. The magical air and the view help you to sort out your thoughts.

Rosa thinks. Mistakes happen to everyone. Sometimes you hurt others, even if you don't mean to. She still feels a little bad, but the kind gesture of others makes her heart feel light again. She realises that it is important to apologise. But it is just as important to forgive others when they make a mistake. This is the only way friendships can grow - like the flowers in the violet glade.

What do we learn from this?

We all make mistakes. But when we have the courage to honestly say "I'm sorry", we show strength. When we forgive others, we show greatness. Together we can make the world, like the Neflental, a little more colourful. And sometimes a smile is the first step to making the heart blossom again - like in spring in the violet glade or in the glowing ice rose garden.

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