Archbishop Desmond Tutu is challenging us all to forgive and I for one, am pretty excited about it. Although I try to forgive as soon as I’m able, sometimes I admit, it’s been a challenge depending mostly on the depth of the hurt. What I do know for sure is that forgiveness feels so good, and the people who hurt me may never know I’ve forgiven them, but what’s important is that I do it for myself, I let go.
In early registration people from over 100 countries have already signed up to participate. Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in leading non-violent opposition to South Africa’s apartheid system of racial domination. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he chaired created a way to address the overwhelming suffering and grief that were the legacy of over four decades of racial oppression.
“Forgiving is a choice. A choice I have seen profoundly transform lives time and again,” says Archbishop Tutu. “As Nelson Mandela said when he walked free after 27 years of prison, ‘I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.’ Mpho and I share a vision to bring the transformative power of forgiveness to people everywhere and to see it spread through families, communities, countries and our whole world,” say Tutu of he and his daughter.
“Our culture glorifies the seductive but ultimately empty feeling of power that comes with an act of revenge or a harsh rebuke,” says the Reverend Mpho Tutu. “The Forgiveness Challenge is a corrective to these cultural forces. It provides training to strengthen our forgiveness muscles. Every time we are hurt we stand at a crossroads with two clear paths to deal with our pain — forgive and heal or lash out and harm.”
Together the Tutus bring their hard-earned and practical insight into the process of forgiving to a global audience in the Tutu Global Forgiveness Challenge. The 30-day program is based on a systematic process of forgiving that the Tutus present in their new book, The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Healing Our World (HarperOne; Hardcover; March 18, 2014).
“Forgiveness is universal. It’s not just for the religious,” said Sir Richard Branson. “Archbishop Tutu taught me to make sure I have no enemies—to forgive and ask for forgiveness—and I’m a better man for it.”
Registration is open at www.ForgivenessChallenge.com. All registrants will receive invitations to special events leading up to the May 4th start, such as live Q&As and interviews with the Tutus and others, including Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Alanis Morissette and more.
When the Challenge starts, May 4th, everyone registered will receive daily inspirational emails for the following thirty days from the Archbishop and Mpho with a link to log in to an online forgiveness community. There they will be guided through practical exercises on how to forgive, have opportunities to join discussions and share their own stories. During the Challenge there will be resources such as films, music and exclusive interviews with forgiveness heroes, experts, cultural icons and leaders. All participants are also encouraged to participate in an optional study designed to measure the impact of forgiveness in people’s lives.
The Challenge provides opportunities to explore questions about forgiveness with both experts and the community, such as “What if I’m not ready to forgive?” and “Aren’t there some things that can’t be forgiven?” These questions and many more will be discussed during the Tutu Forgiveness Challenge.
“Forgiveness is not something we do for others, we do it for ourselves and this then impacts all those around us. That is why forgiveness is our greatest gift and only hope,” said Archbishop Tutu. “I am delighted that people all around the globe are signing up for the Forgiveness Challenge, together I know we can change the world.”
