How to Forgive When You’re Still Hopping Mad

Even though we know that forgiving sooner rather than later is best for everyone involved, sometimes it’s just hard to do.

Sometimes, even though we know we should forgive, we simply can’t — at least not right away.

You replay what happened.
You think about the person.
And instantly, the steam starts to rise.

Your body tightens.
Your thoughts race.
You feel so angry you can barely think straight.

So what do you do when you know you should be forgiving… but you’re still hopping mad?

When Forgiveness Feels Impossible

Let’s be honest: sometimes forgiveness feels completely distasteful.

You’re not ready to “be the bigger person.”
You’re not ready to feel compassionate.
You’re not ready to soften.

And you definitely don’t want to emotionally engage with what they did or how it made you feel — because that just fuels the fire.

Here’s the good news:

There is a painless little thing you can do that takes less than a minute, requires almost no emotional effort, and still moves forgiveness forward in a very real way.

It’s a little weird that it works.
But it does.

A Forgiveness Shortcut (Yes, Even When You’re Angry)

You don’t have to feel forgiving.
You don’t have to mean it yet.
You don’t have to excuse anything.

You simply say these five lines:

You are Spirit.
Whole and innocent.
I forgive you.
I release you.
I bless you with love.

That’s it.

You can say them quietly in your mind.
You can say them through clenched teeth.
You can say them while still feeling annoyed, hurt, frustrated, or furious.

You don’t even have to emotionally engage with them.

How to Use This When the Anger Keeps Coming Back

Here’s how it works in real life:

Every time you think of the person and feel the anger surge again —
every time the memory pops up —
every time your body reacts —

you simply repeat the five lines.

Again.
And again.
And again.

Each time you do, it releases a little steam.

You may still feel some heat at first.
You may still be quietly seething.

But something subtle shifts.

You don’t spiral as far.
You recover faster.
You return to yourself more quickly.

As the days go by, you’ll notice that your intense feelings begin to recede. When you think about what happened, you feel more like you again — less hijacked by emotion.

Letting Forgiveness Work in the Background

Eventually, one of two things will happen:

You may find that you’re ready to do deeper forgiveness work with this person.

Or — just as often — you’ll suddenly realize that the anger, hurt, frustration, helplessness, or sense of victimization is simply… gone.

This little quiet forgiveness prayer will have done its work without you having to force anything.

Your only job was your willingness to say it.

Why This Works So Well

Perhaps this prayer works because it doesn’t ask you to excuse anyone’s behavior.

It doesn’t ask you to pretend nothing happened.
It doesn’t ask you to bypass your feelings.

It simply asks you to acknowledge who the other person really is — beyond the behavior — and what their highest potential is.

And in doing that, it gently frees you.

Forgiveness doesn’t always begin with warmth.
Sometimes it begins with willingness.
Sometimes it begins while you’re still mad.

And that’s okay.

This simple practice will carry you the rest of the way.

Want to go deeper into forgiveness?

Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking Our Connection to Love.

My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness,  offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices to help make forgiveness easier than you might think.

Let daily affirmations support you too — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck  for a gentle morning practice of peace, release, and healing.

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Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

The Hard Work — Forgiving ICE

For those of us who practice forgiveness regularly, it often settles into a familiar routine: forgiving the same person over and over again.

That person is usually someone we spend a lot of time with. A spouse. A family member. A friend. A coworker.

People’s quirky or unconscious behavior can be annoying. And yes, it can be challenging to forgive them sometimes, especially when they do things that cause suffering for us.

But honestly, this kind of forgiveness is fairly run-of-the-mill compared to what is going on in the larger world around us today.

Right now, there is all kinds of “big” and frightening behavior that calls for forgiveness. Some of it requires what I would call expert-level forgiveness.

And for many of us in the United States, over the past months, we have been given a true Black Diamond assignment:

Forgiving ICE.

What We Are Witnessing

We have watched agents mistakenly haul citizens into custody.
We have seen families disrupted.
Children arrested.
People sent to war-torn African countries where they are promptly jailed.
Due process ignored.
Legal protections removed.
Green card holders detained.

People disappearing, while families have no idea where they are.

And now, in some cases, we are witnessing protesters — people within their lawful rights to observe and record — being shot and killed.

It is frightening.
It is terrible.
And we are all watching it.

As a nation, we are uncomfortable. Upset. Tense. Traumatized. Confused. Angry. Heartbroken.

So the question becomes:

What do we do with all of this?
How do we even begin to process it?

What Will Not Heal This

First and foremost, anger, fear, and hatred are not the solution.

In fact, they are the greatest hindrance to any real solution.

They poison our minds.
They harden our hearts.
They block our connection to Spirit.
They separate us from our own peace.

And as shocking as it may sound…

We must forgive ICE.

Why Forgiveness Feels So Wrong Here

The idea of forgiving major trespassers is often completely contrary to logic.

It feels like we are rewarding bad behavior.
Like giving the school bully a hall pass.
Like excusing cruelty.

It almost feels irresponsible.

But forgiveness is not a reward we hand out to “bad guys.”

It is something far deeper than that.

What Forgiveness Really Is

Forgiveness is a spiritual act.

It is how we affirm our love for all of humanity.
It is how we recognize the great Oneness of the collective.
It is how we stay connected to God.

It is how we express gratitude for the gift of life and love given to us by a Creator who made each one of us in His image — and loves us all equally.

Even when what we do here on psycho planet looks, to human eyes, like “bad behavior.”

In God’s mind, it is not “bad.”

It is unconscious.

It is free will being exercised without awareness.

God does not judge.
God is always love.

When People Forget Who They Are

Sometimes we come here and forget who we are.

We forget our innate goodness.
We forget that we are cherished.
We forget that we are safe in God’s love.

We get caught up in fear, power, control, systems, and ego.
We forget our truth.

And then we do selfish things.
Stupid things.
Harmful things.

Nobody is denying that real suffering is caused.

But what is undeniable is this:

That suffering must be forgiven.

Not excused.
Not ignored.
Not justified.

Forgiven.

Seeing With God’s Eyes

God sees the highest potential in all of us.
He does not fixate on our worst moments.
He does not define us by our lapses.

And that is what we are being asked to learn to do.

We can know that certain behaviors are wrong.
We can work to change unjust systems.
We can vote. Advocate. Speak. Act.

And at the same time…

We must forgive.

Because forgiveness is how we stay free.

Why We Must Do This for Ourselves

When we hold hatred, rage, and bitterness in our hearts, we suffer.

We lose access to Spirit.
We lose clarity.
We lose peace.
We lose joy.

Our nervous systems become overwhelmed.
Our minds become trapped in fear loops.

Forgiveness is not about letting injustice continue.

It is about refusing to let injustice destroy our souls.

(If you’d like to explore how forgiveness restores our connection to love, you might find this helpful: Unblocking Our Connection to Love.)

The Spiritual Challenge of Our Time

This is not easy work.

This is advanced forgiveness.

This is where spiritual teachings become real — or remain theoretical.

It is easy to forgive people who apologize.
It is harder to forgive people who don’t think they’ve done anything wrong.
It is hardest to forgive institutions that cause widespread harm.

And yet…

This is exactly where forgiveness is most powerful.

Our Invitation

We are being invited to see deeper.
To love wider.
To forgive harder.

To hold this truth:

Every person involved — even when unconscious — is still created by God.
Still loved.
Still capable of awakening.
Still more than their worst actions.

We can work for justice.
We can pray for change.
We can support the vulnerable.

And we can forgive.

All at once.

That is the hard work.

And that is the holy work.

(For practical guidance on how to forgive in difficult situations, see A Simple Forgiveness Prayer.)