Toronto, ON – I just left a room full of strangers who I now feel undeniably connected to because of an event called The Forgiveness Project. This workshop facilitated the most brutally honest, accepting, sincere exhibition of self-reflection and storytelling I’ve ever witnessed. 20 something people, many of whom are involved in the hip hop community in Toronto, walked away saying words like “together,” “courage” and “amazing.”

Many of us had no idea the type of soul-bearing admissions that would become the content for the three hour discussion. Tara Muldoon invited me to come hear stories of forgiveness from a diverse panel, but instead I heard from the panel and more. In what developed into a truly communal atmosphere, stories were heard of resentment towards absentee parents, guilt felt by an older brother, struggles to cope with significant personal loss, isolated torment following molestation and a heart wrenching lesson taught by a father to his son. Yes, it certainly got heavy.

This wasn’t about holding hands and singing kumbaya as we sat cross legged around burning incense. Nobody really knew what we’d hear or where the individual stories were going. But the topic was forgiveness and sharing stories of personal struggles with forgiveness, whether giving or receiving. And for some reason, with that steering the dialogue, intimate, emotional details of deeply personal journeys oozed out over and over from both the panellists and courageous audience members. It seemed with every admission the room collectively became more ready to face their fears and think about their own lives in forgiveness terms.

The term “forgive and forget” was challenged several times. “Maybe it should be forgive and learn and move on” said one panellist. “Not forgive and forget,” said another. “It’s more forgive…and don’t forget.” Meaning you don’t want to forget the process because forgiveness is the lesson, not the conclusion.

Another important distinction that arose was self-forgiveness. Many stories found people doing things they wish they hadn’t and holding onto grudges they couldn’t let go of. For these stories, it was made clear the power is in forgiving yourself first. Releasing yourself from the trap of anger, bitterness, resentment and guilt is a major type of forgiveness that was expressed.

Not everyone had a ‘family channel’ conclusion to their stories and many of us acknowledged we still manage the scenarios discussed to this day. But the process of verbalizing and then analyzing these instances of forgiveness was like spontaneous group therapy. It was the kind of moment that I honestly didn’t see coming. Maybe the organizers had this in their vision. Maybe the panellists had some warning. But I walked in an open-minded, curious journalist and walked out a touched, teary and inspired part of the group.

I wish everyone I know can experience something like The Forgiveness Project.

Be sure to check out http://www.gravityaffect.com/f-you.

Written by Jonathon “Bizz” Brown for HipHopCanada

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Posted by @ThatsBizz

@ThatsBizz is a Senior Contributor for HipHopCanada and a member of the Central Canada team. The nuts and bolts of Jonathon “Bizz” Brown are impressive, but it’s his ability to apply his skills, identify opportunities, adapt to new environments and get the job done that makes him who he is. An engaging combination of education, experience and vision, Brown continues to make his mark on many fronts and plant his flag as a professional on the rise. Entrenched in the urban music scene for more than half a decade, Bizz launched Crack House Radio in 2004. Over the next four years, the online radio show would evolve into a major outlet for Canadian music and hip hop culture in general. Over that time, Bizz interviewed countless artists and professionals including Belly, Bishop, Drake, Classified, Guru, Joell Ortiz, author and gang specialist Michael Chettleburg, Brent (owner of Just Ent) & many others. In 2007, Bizz joined Urbanology Magazine as a staff writer and would go on to contribute dozens of articles over the next three years including a cover story on Classified in 2009. 2007 also saw the launch of Bizz' line of t-shirts reading "Hip Hop Ain't Dead It Lives In The North." Since then, he's toured with Peter Jackson, Busta Rhymes, DJ Dames Nellas, Bishop, Slaughterhouse & Pharoahe Monch and secured a strong following with his column on Cityonmyback.com called "The Fine Print."

1. 
   billyblanksDec 13, 2010 at 10:23 am

   wow, didn’t expect to read about this on HHC. where’s this coming from?

   Sounds like it was powerful, I wonder what rappers were there. would’ve been interesting

2. 
   avenue qJan 24, 2011 at 10:43 pm

   I agree, I am living in Canada, and I looove your show and would love to see what you could do for us !!!

3. 
   Dynamic ProducerApr 22, 2011 at 10:42 pm

   Sounds like my kinda place to be… I understand exactly what you mean when you refer to verbalizing your feelings and then reflecting upon them. That’s what I use my music for.. It’s kinda like music therapy!! lol