--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forgiveness means it finally becomes…" description: "\"Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.\" — Anne Lamott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png" --- # Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you… ![“Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png) > “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgiveness frees you from the need to retaliate, making past hurts irrelevant. **In simple terms:** Let go of revenge through forgiveness. Key Takeaway Choose peace over retaliation. Themes forgiveness peace personal growth Mood calm resolute Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family disputes - workplace conflicts - personal betrayals - legal settlements Key Concepts emotional healing conflict resolution inner strength Questions to Reflect On - What does forgiveness mean to you? - When is it appropriate to forgive? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may feel like condoning harmful behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finally Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finally-unimportant-2445854/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiveness Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness-means-680982/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-finally-2230373/) [Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant/) [Unimportant Hit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant-hit-2445853/) ## Related quotes > [Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You're done. It doesn't necessarily mean that you want to have lunch with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-unimportant-that-you-hit-back-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Hopefully, this statement means we're finally nearing the end of this very long process to take guns and criminality out of politics in Northern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/hopefully-this-statement-means-we-re-finally-nearing-the-end-of-this/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [Forgiveness doesn't always mean you want that person back in your life, it also means you're finally willing to let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/forgiveness-doesn-t-always-mean-you-want-that-person-back-in-your/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [Is this what it means to die? Lucas thought. Because I’m not scared of it anymore. Not if it means I finally get this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/is-this-what-it-means-to-die-lucas-thought-because-i-m-not-scared-of/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [Forgiveness means freeing yourself from that situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgiveness-means-freeing-yourself-from-that-situation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/forgiveness-means-giving-up-all-hope-for-a-better-past/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [The very person you find it hardest to forgive is the one you need to let go of the most. Forgiveness means letting go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-very-person-you-find-it-hardest-to-forgive-is-the-one-you-need-to/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Forgiveness means that you fill yourself with love and you radiate that love outward and refuse to hang onto the venom or hatred that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/forgiveness-means-that-you-fill-yourself-with-love-and-you-radiate/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Forgiveness doesn't mean they didn't hurt you. Nor does it mean what they did is acceptable. Forgiveness means that what they did no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/forgiveness-doesn-t-mean-they-didn-t-hurt-you-nor-does-it-mean-what/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Forgiveness does not mean that we suppress anger; forgiveness means that we have asked for a miracle: the ability to see through mistakes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/forgiveness-does-not-mean-that-we-suppress-anger-forgiveness-means/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [To me, when someone wrongs you, you both share the burden of that wrongdoing - the pain of it weighs on both of you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/to-me-when-someone-wrongs-you-you-both-share-the-burden-of-that/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Forgiveness is not a matter of exonerating people who have hurt you. They may not deserve exoneration. Forgiveness means cleansing your soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/forgiveness-is-not-a-matter-of-exonerating-people-who-have-hurt-you/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Take it slowly. The deepest resentments are wrapped up in a lot of hurt and pain. We think we're protecting ourselves by not forgiving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-martin/take-it-slowly-the-deepest-resentments-are-wrapped-up-in-a-lot-of/) [Howard Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-martin/) > [Forgiveness means letting go of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-jampolsky/forgiveness-means-letting-go-of-the-past/) [Gerald Jampolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-jampolsky/) > [Love is an act of endless forgiveness. It means forget inconvenient duties, then forgive yourself for forgetting. By rigid practice and stern determination, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/love-is-an-act-of-endless-forgiveness-it-means-forget-inconvenient/) [Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Forgiveness quotes > [“Lord I come before you, I repent all my sins; forgive me. I repent on behalf of my children forgive them Lord. Help them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/lord-i-come-before-you-i-repent-all-my-sins-forgive-me-i-repent-on/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [Forgiveness is not saying, What you did to me is okay. It is saying, Im not going to let what you did to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/forgiveness-is-not-saying-what-you-did-to-me-is-okay-it-is-saying-im/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“So in practicing blanket forgiveness you first assume that in any current condition of pain or discomfort there is some anger involved, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-kahili-king/so-in-practicing-blanket-forgiveness-you-first-assume-that-in-any/) [Serge Kahili King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-kahili-king/) > [Do what is given to you, and do it well, and you will have done enough...live together in the forgiveness of your sins. Forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-is-given-to-you-and-do-it-well-and-you-will-have-done-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wiggle out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/the-public-more-often-than-not-will-forgive-mistakes-but-it-will-not/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [A Real Boyfriend does the sweetest things randomly because he never wants her to feel unappreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/a-real-boyfriend-does-the-sweetest-things-randomly-because-he-never/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [Friendship means understanding, not argument. it means forgiveness, not forgetting. it means the memories last, even if contact is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sokhom/friendship-means-understanding-not-argument-it-means-forgiveness-not/) [Sokhom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sokhom/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Have an open mind and heart. Learn to journey in understanding and forgiveness. It's not always going to be easy but it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-elle/have-an-open-mind-and-heart-learn-to-journey-in-understanding-and/) [Alexandra Elle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-elle/) > [Forgive us our trespasses," says Margarethe, "and get out of our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/forgive-us-our-trespasses-says-margarethe-and-get-out-of-our-way/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) [Browse all 8,311 Forgiveness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-unimportant-that-you-hit-back/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forgiveness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-unimportant-that-you-hit-back/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/anne-lamott-188_forgiveness_forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-uni_1853191.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Lamott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-unimportant-that-you-hit-back/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/forgiveness-means-it-finally-becomes-unimportant-that-you-hit-back/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```