Michael Goodman, 53, said it had haunted him for years. He felt bad about threatening a young man for his bus pass just to impress his friends.
He was arrested for the attempted mugging and so learned the name of his victim — a name that has stayed with him for 35 years; a name that jumped out at him recently while reading a Facebook post.
He saw a comment by Claude Soffel, the same man that he had threatened on the steps of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Goodman realized that if he were to post in the comments section he would finally get the chance to clear his conscience, according the the New York Post.
“You may not remember this … but a long, long time ago I walked up the steps of [the museum] one afternoon, trying to look like a tough guy,” Goodman posted on Nov. 19.
“Finally I can say — I’M VERY SORRY that you had to go through that crap that day long ago.”
Soffel, who is a life coach today, wrote back:
“Clearly you’re a ‘bigger man’ today. Any man who draws a line for himself [and says] ‘Today I step forward for myself, my family, and humanity’ is a hero to me,” Soffel wrote. “So let us now, jointly, put this in its proper place, behind us.”
(READ more in the NY Post)
Quite often, the hardest person to forgive is yourself. I’ve done some hurtful things that I’m ashamed of, and while some folks have forgiven me for those thoughtless and self-serving actions, I still battle with forgiving myself, and probably always will.
Good point, Kevin. It’s so true that we are usually hardest on ourselves.
I think the key is compassion and empathy for yourself. Close your eyes and remember that you didn’t know better and were challenged at the time in a way you couldn’t deal well with. And pat yourself on the head like a loving friend would do for you.