One of the earliest lessons we learn in life is centred around the importance of forgiveness. We are taught that the key to living a peaceful life is learning how to forgive those who have wronged us, regardless of whether or not they deserve to be forgiven. We are taught that holding grudges is equivalent to holding onto something that constantly wounds us. The only sensible thing to do is to drop it and move on. Despite the great amount of focus that is placed on the value of forgiveness, there is a part of it that we are almost never taught to do properly. This part is asking for forgiveness.
Ironically, the word ‘sorry’ is something we seem to use everywhere but the places that need it the most. For instance, we say sorry when we step on someone’s toes or when we accidentally interrupt an individual who is speaking. We say sorry when we knock over something or when we are late to a meeting. Yet, when we do something more significantly wounding, it seems as if we forget to notice, much less apologise for it.