Why do the dark days of the past lighten up in late recollection? Is this a subtle hint that the soul is letting go of the weights it has been carrying, preparing to lift off more easily? Is this a premonition of what religious traditions call heaven, this euphoric tone now coating many of the worst experiences, so that there is little left to forgive? At the end the unforgivables will never be forgiven, because in old age they do not need to be forgiven: They have simply been forgotten. Forgetting, that marvel of the old mind, may actually be the truest form of forgiveness, and a blessing.

James Hillman, The Force of Character