Kaleb wouldn’t look us in the eye. For the first three weeks of The Forgiveness Class, when his turn came in the circle, head down, he would just say “pass.” His first actual words in class, back in week four I believe, were, “I will NEVER forgive her. I don’t believe in forgiveness.”

But something happened to Kaleb. Lately, he’s been smiling a lot, and quick to share.

Last week, in the circle, Kaleb says “on a scale of 0 to 10, my anger was 100. By the look on group members’ faces, he was not exaggerating. “Now,” Kaleb tells us, “it was a 2 when I came to class today, and a 0 after the meditation.” Kaleb goes on to say, “I no longer want to kill my ex for trying to take my children. Now, I can see her point of view. Maybe I do have forgiveness in my heart.”

One theme of The Forgiveness Class is transforming our anger into peace. Positive feelings produce positive thoughts, which produce positive actions and behaviors, which produce positive outcomes.

A+ Kaleb. Imagine the outcomes upon release if Kaleb’s anger stayed at 100. And imagine them now, at 0 to 2.

I ask the group, “what is the main purpose of this class?”
Kaleb jumps in, “breaking the generational cycle of violence, trauma, and abuse.”

A+ Kaleb.