Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently declared, "There can be no future without forgiveness." We believe that forgiveness is a powerful tool for personal transformation and healing and is the culmination of the grief process. It is a means through which we create the future--a future free of repaying violence for violence and pursuing any desire for revenge. We are honored to present the Garden of Forgiveness initiative, inspired by the Garden of Forgiveness in Beirut, Lebanon. Gardens of Forgiveness will be peaceful places for reflection where we acknowledge the hurts that can befall us as human beings, either as individuals or as communities, and then choose to make the world a better place by refusing to reciprocate violence for violence. Each Garden of Forgiveness will be part of the Global Gardens of Forgiveness Network ©, a network that will create a future beyond violence, with gardens serving as venues for conflict transformation and healing in communities around the world.

What is forgiveness?
* Forgiveness is the peace you learn to feel when you let go of unresolved grievances.
* Forgiveness is for you and not the offender.
* Forgiveness is taking back your power.
* Forgiveness is taking responsibility for how you feel.
* Forgiveness is about your healing and not about the people who hurt you.
* Forgiveness is a trainable skill just like learning to throw a baseball.
* Forgiveness helps you get control over your feelings.
* Forgiveness can improve your mental and physical health.
* Forgiveness is becoming a hero instead of a victim.
* Forgiveness is a choice.
* Everyone can learn to forgive.

What forgiveness is not:
* Forgiveness is not condoning unkindness.
* Forgiveness is not forgetting that something painful happened.
* Forgiveness is not excusing poor behavior.
* Forgiveness does not have to be an otherworldly or religious experience.
* Forgiveness is not denying or minimizing your hurt.
* Forgiveness does not mean reconciling with the offender.
* Forgiveness does not mean you give up having feelings.
* Forgiveness does not exclude or preclude justice.

-From Dr. Fred Luskin's Forgive for Good:
A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness
(HarperSanFrancisco, 2002)

 Read I Dream A Garden
by Rod A. Beckstrom