In this personal monologue, the speaker recounts a therapy session where they struggled to forgive their mother under the pressure of the "forgive and forget" doctrine often presented as a religious requirement. They argue that this forced forgiveness is a form of toxic positivity that misrepresents both God and the Bible. Using a vivid razor‑blade metaphor, they illustrate how clinging to unforgiveness harms the holder, likening it to squeezing a bleeding blade until the hand is damaged. True forgiveness, they claim, is simply letting go of the pain—dropping the blade, healing the wound, and learning to avoid the danger in the future. The speaker urges listeners to examine their own beliefs about forgiveness and consider whether those beliefs are causing self‑harm.
Chapters
Anything that's misused cause harm and abuse. I remember sitting across from my therapist and I was just like, I don't know how to forgive her. When I was struggling to forgive my mother, I was taught that, oh, you gotta forgive and forget. God ain't gonna be pleased with you unless you forgive. So I felt forced to forgive and act like nothing happened. So because I'm not a fake and phony person, that was not jiving with me. A lot of people who misrepresent God and the Bible are cramming, um, form of forgiveness down our throats, but it's not the truth. Let's act like this is a razor blade. So I'm sitting here and I accidentally grab a razor blade like this and it cut me. It cut me so bad that now I'm bleeding. So instead of Letting the razor blade go, I'm squeezing tight. This is unforgiveness. I'm squeezing it tight. And not only am I squeezing it tight, I'm saying to the razor blade, I'm not letting you go because you hurt me. You don't get to just hurt me and just live your life. And I'm squeezing tight and squeezing tight. What's happening? I'm harming myself worse. And if I keep holding onto it, I'm not going to have a hand because I'm holding it tight. This is what unforgiveness does to us. Forgiveness is as simple as this. Oh my God, I just got cut. Let me— I let it go. Now I no longer have it. Now I can deal with healing the wound, and I also know that I will never ever hold that razor blade in my hand like this ever again. So guess what I'm also gonna do? I'm going to warn people, hey, don't go near that razor blade. Matter of fact, let me put the razor blade away. That is what forgiveness is. It is letting go of the pain for the purpose of healing and knowing what not to do in the future. Ask yourself this question: what is my idea of forgiveness, and is that belief causing more harm to myself?
