Forgiveness: How to learn to forgive others and yourself

Story from the Neflental: The day in the violet glade

In the Neflental valley, the inhabitants experience small and big adventures every day. On a sunny autumn morning, gentle wafts of mist crept through the valley. The woods glowed in warm colours. The maple glade glowed in vivid red and orange, as if small flames were dancing between the trees. Rosa Periwinkle was already looking forward to this day, because she wanted to hike to the violet glade.

The special violet glade in the Neflental valley

The violet glade is a secret place in the Neflental valley. It is full of colourful violets and crocuses. In the centre of the clearing stands an ancient statue covered in soft moss. Rays of sunlight fall through the trees and make little dots of light dance across its face. The colours in the clearing enchant everyone: violet, sunny yellow, leaf green and a little pearl grey can be seen everywhere. It feels peaceful.

On her way to the violet glade, Rosa Periwinkle picked some red leaves that had fallen from the maple trees. She wanted to make a pretty wreath from them later. Her thoughts were happy, but she was also a little excited. A special task awaited her in Neflental today.

Mistakes happen in the Neflental

Rosa Immergrün was almost there when someone suddenly shouted from behind an old fern: "You accidentally wet my favourite book yesterday!" It was her friend from Neflental. Rosa was startled when she saw the wet pages. She had accidentally put the book on the bench while collecting water. She felt sad and guilty because she had made a mistake.

Everyone in the Neflental knows that mistakes sometimes happen. Even if we do our best, not everything always works out. Rosa looked at the wavy pages and said quietly: "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I want to make it up to you."

Learning forgiveness in Neflental

Forgiveness is very important in Neflental. Rosa Periwinkle knew that, but she was still afraid that her friend might be angry. But her friend sighed, looked at the statue in the centre of the violet glade and said very quietly: "I was sad at first, but I want to forgive you. Books can dry, and friends are more important."

Together they laid the book in the sun, in the warm violet glade in the Neflental valley. The sun's rays slowly made the pages smooth again. Rosa Periwinkle noticed how her heart became lighter. Her friend smiled at her and they both felt at ease again.

Forgive yourself in the Neflental

After the moment of happiness, Rosa and her friend sat down in front of the moss-covered statue. They told each other when they themselves had been sad because they had hurt someone. In doing so, they realised: In Neflental, forgiveness is part of the game, because nobody is perfect.

Rosa Periwinkle learnt how important it is to forgive yourself. "I didn't want to break anything," she whispered, "I'll be more careful from now on." Her friend nodded because he had had similar experiences.

The Neflental lives from friendship and courage

Together they hopped around among the violet and yellow flowers and laughed again. The violet glade showed its full splendour in the sunlight. The statue with the shining eyes seemed to wink at them. It felt as if Neflental was rewarding them for showing the courage to forgive.

So the two of them realised: In Neflental, life blossoms when we forgive others and also when we forgive ourselves. The colours become brighter, hearts lighter and friendship grows particularly strong.

What do we learn from this?

Sometimes we make mistakes, even in Neflental. We can apologise and forgive each other. And it is just as important to forgive ourselves. Only then do we feel free, happy and connected again. The next time you do something wrong, think of pink periwinkle and the violet glade. You too can forgive - others and yourself!

You want the book Order "Pink evergreen and the golden oak leaf" - click here!. Also like to take Contact the author Kira Kimmelmann at or read more short stories by Pink evergreen here.