I once read a story about a man, a murderer, and a tale of extraordinary forgiveness. The day Anthony Colon learned that his older brother had been gunned down in East Harlem, he began struggling with a growing hate that would last years. The anger wore him down as he struggled to say goodbye to his brother. Anthony grew to hate the guilty men who had fired 13 bullets into his brother. “Oh, God, it just – it just put so much hate in my life. I hated everybody. I hated everything. It made me to be a person, like a monster,” said Colon, “I loved him because he always stood up for me from a little kid. He would not even allow me to fight. He would stand up for me, whatever happened, because he always saw that goodness in me.”

Since his murder, much time has passed and the cloud of anger began to dissipate. He married, had two children and most importantly, he accepted religion into his life. In this process, he began to seek reconciliation with the guilty men. “I just wanted it to be OK,” he said. One day while visiting a friend at the Eastern Correctional Facility in Ulster County, New York, Anthony’s life changed. He looked and saw Michael Rowe, one of the men who had murdered his brother. Rowe saw him as well and, upon recognizing him, tried to duck and hide.

Rowe felt nothing but remorse and shame for murdering another man. The meeting would drastically change the lives of both men, instantaneously. Colon learned about his long time enemy and how he and his wife were able to have three children together during his imprisonment. “I still don’t think that I’ll ever truly be able to forgive myself because of the things that I’ve done. Because I take full responsibility for what I did. And I completely, and as best as anyone could, understand the pain that I have caused.” Rowe studied and got an associate’s degree, then his bachelor’s. As Rowe was studying for his master’s degree in Professional Studies, Colon began visiting him regularly.

The day of his graduation, Colon surprised Rowe by helping to put on his robe. Colon believes religion has propelled him to forgive Rowe. When he was released from prison 25 years ago, he had not seen the world since he was barely grown up. A story like this may seen incredible but it could be much more common. We have the ability to forgive almost every day, yet few choose to act on that incredible ability. As difficult as it may seem sometimes, forgiveness is one of the strongest powers that we, as humans, possess. Only through forgiveness can we move forward. This is true in every facet of life. This story serves as a perfect example of this. It is in extraordinary form of forgiveness that brings enemies together and forms relationships. We all have people in our lives who have hurt us, there is no exception.

To quote the late Fred Rogers, “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies and our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life‘s important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take route very early in our lives.” I bring the story to your attention because, possibly, it may inspire you to forgive. This is one of many examples of extraordinary forgiveness bringing people together. Only forgiveness can heal emotional scars in the same way that only light can expel the darkness because extraordinary forgiveness is just that, extraordinary.