Because nature within us is part of the same great pattern as nature without, to begin the turn-around from "ravaged" land to "reverenced" land, the first step is to take time out to permit our inner patterns to re-align with the greater beings -- the sun and the atmosphere -- which give us our life here on Earth.
When two persons want reconciliation through forgiveness, the whole cosmos is involved, and the energy springing from forgiveness is released for other forms of service. Forgiveness makes possible a deeper communion than that which existed before. One can begin to see another reason why forgiveness is important. Its importance is on the scale of evolution and it springs from the Creator of evolution. It invariably releases love, and love is the energy of creation.