--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forgiveness should be an act, but this is…" description: "\"Forgiveness should be an act, but this is a state with him.\" — Elizabeth Bowen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png" --- # Forgiveness should be an act, but this is a state with him. ![“Forgiveness should be an act, but this is a state with him.” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png) > “Forgiveness should be an act, but this is a state with him.” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgiveness is not just an act but a lasting state of being with someone. **In simple terms:** Forgiveness becomes a shared state. Key Takeaway Foster lasting forgiveness. Themes relationships forgiveness empathy psychology conflict Mood somber hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - marriage counseling - family disputes - reconciliation processes - personal growth Key Concepts emotional healing relational dynamics moral growth Questions to Reflect On - Can forgiveness be sustained indefinitely? - What sustains a forgiving mindset? A Different Perspective Maintaining forgiveness can be emotionally taxing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-state-4523476/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiveness Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness-act-829798/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [In life we have to do a particular act, the state should maintain fearlessness and serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/in-life-we-have-to-do-a-particular-act-the-state-should-maintain/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Forgiveness is the act of admitting we are like other people. We are prone to make mistakes that cause confusion, inflict pain, and miscommunicate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baldwin/forgiveness-is-the-act-of-admitting-we-are-like-other-people-we-are/) [Christina Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baldwin/) > [Forgiveness is an act of admitting we are like other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-perri/forgiveness-is-an-act-of-admitting-we-are-like-other-people/) [Christina Perri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-perri/) > [Forgetting is something that time takes care of, but forgiveness is an act of volition, and only the sufferer is qualified to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/forgetting-is-something-that-time-takes-care-of-but-forgiveness-is-an/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [Forgive yourself. The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you've created in your own life. Forgiveness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/forgive-yourself-the-supreme-act-of-forgiveness-is-when-you-can/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [“Forgiveness, they shouted, all the while committing their wrongs. When he was younger, Yaw wondered why they did not preach that the people should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaa-gyasi/forgiveness-they-shouted-all-the-while-committing-their-wrongs-when/) [Yaa Gyasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaa-gyasi/) > [Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/forgiveness-is-an-act-of-the-will-and-the-will-can-function-2/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [Forgiveness is nothing more and nothing less than an act of self-healing-an act of self-empowermen t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/forgiveness-is-nothing-more-and-nothing-less-than-an-act-of-self/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Forgiveness is the act of freeing yourself from an obligation to think negative thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgiveness-is-the-act-of-freeing-yourself-from-an-obligation-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The act of forgiveness is the act of returning to present time. And that's why when one has become a forgiving person, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/the-act-of-forgiveness-is-the-act-of-returning-to-present-time-and/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [But forgiveness is the act of not putting anyone out of your heart, even those who are acting out of deep ignorance or out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/but-forgiveness-is-the-act-of-not-putting-anyone-out-of-your-heart/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Forgiveness is an act of self-love and respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/forgiveness-is-an-act-of-self-love-and-respect/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart" "It is not my ability,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/forgiveness-is-an-act-of-the-will-and-the-will-can-function/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [Forgiveness is the act of admitting we are like other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baldwin/forgiveness-is-the-act-of-admitting-we-are-like-other-people/) [Christina Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baldwin/) > [“Forgiveness is first act of faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/forgiveness-is-first-act-of-faith/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/one-s-sentiments-call-them-that-one-s-fidelities-are-so-instinctive/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Only in a house where one has learnt to be lonely does one have this solicitude for things. One's relation to them, the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/only-in-a-house-where-one-has-learnt-to-be-lonely-does-one-have-this/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [To walk into history is to be free at once, to be at large among people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-walk-into-history-is-to-be-free-at-once-to-be-at-large-among-people/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [The wish to lead out one's lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one's self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/the-wish-to-lead-out-one-s-lover-must-be-a-tribal-feeling-the-wish-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Convention was our safeguard: could one have stronger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/convention-was-our-safeguard-could-one-have-stronger/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“First love, with its frantic haughty imagination, swings its object clear of the everyday, over the rut of living, making him all looks, silences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/first-love-with-its-frantic-haughty-imagination-swings-its-object/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [to leap is not only to leap, it is to hit the ground somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-leap-is-not-only-to-leap-it-is-to-hit-the-ground-somewhere/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/that-is-partly-why-women-marry-to-keep-up-the-fiction-of-being-in-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“But Miss Pym gave an impression, somehow, of having been attacked from within .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/but-miss-pym-gave-an-impression-somehow-of-having-been-attacked-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [rudeness to Mrs. Dosely was like dropping a pat of butter on to a hot plate - it slid and melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/rudeness-to-mrs-dosely-was-like-dropping-a-pat-of-butter-on-to-a-hot/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) [Explore all 275 Elizabeth Bowen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## 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 should be an act, but this is a state with him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Bowen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is-a-state-with-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forgiveness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is-a-state-with-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_forgiveness_forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is_1339961.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Forgiveness should be an act, but this is a state with him.” — Elizabeth Bowen", "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": "Elizabeth Bowen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Forgiveness should be an act, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is-a-state-with-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/forgiveness-should-be-an-act-but-this-is-a-state-with-him/#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 } } ] } ```