Written By: Brad Pedersen

This past weekend, I stood in the rain with my son and his buddies at an Oasis concert, watching two brothers who hadn't spoken in fifteen years perform together again.

As the sky opened up (a fitting backdrop for this iconic band from Manchester England) my son and I bonded in a unique way sharing a rare and special moment together.  Surrounded by 50,000+ people singing in unison the legendary lyrics of "Wonderwall," I realized I was witnessing something far more powerful than just a reunion tour.

I was watching the healing power of forgiveness play out on one of the world's biggest stages.

The Gallagher brothers' reconciliation after years of bitter estrangement reminded me of my own journey through broken relationships. Sometimes the most brave thing we can do isn't in trying to build something new; it's in rebuilding something we thought was lost forever.

The Height of Success, The Depth of Division

Oasis was one of the most influential bands in the world during the 90s and early 2000s. Their music helped define my youth, and amazingly, their iconic songs have transcended time to capture the hearts of younger generations.

Then, seemingly at the height of their success, they imploded.

On August 28, 2009, just before a scheduled show at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, Noel Gallagher quit the band following a heated backstage altercation with his brother Liam. Reports say it involved guitar destruction and intense verbal sparring. That same night, Noel announced: "People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."

It wasn't a sudden explosion, it was the culmination of years of festering resentment. Their musical success had amplified their differences rather than bridging them and the very achievements that should have brought them together instead drove them apart.

I understood this dynamic intimately.

My Own Broken Partnership

If you know my backstory, you'll know that I experienced my own version of a break up, when I was fired from Basic Fun, a company I had co-founded. My former business partner and I had owned separate toy companies that we merged together to form a new company that we agreed to co-lead. 

However, leading up to the merger we started to see fractures in the foundation; we had several values and cultural differences that began to weigh on the relationship. It eventually led to a breaking point, where I was terminated from the very company I had helped create.

When I was first fired, I was initially resentful. I felt betrayed and victimized and my first instinct was to seek revenge, wanting to strike back at my former partners. 

Playing the role of a victim, in that space, I fell into what I now call the 4 B’s:

I was Blind to my own role that resulted in the breakdown.

I Blamed them entirely for the outcome.

I Begrudged their ongoing success.

And I let Bitterness slowly take hold coloring not just my perception of them, but my entire outlook on life.

Through all of that I become resentful of them for what I perceived they had unjustly inflicted on my life. 

The Poison We Choose to Drink

If you’ve ever seen yourself as the victim, it can feel empowering at first. There’s a sense of justification; you’ve been wronged and your pain is valid. However that sense of control is fleeting, and if held onto too long, it begins to erode your self confidence and quietly becomes destructive.

Nelson Mandela famously said that "resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."  Those closest to me started to see how this began playing out in my own life. 

I couldn’t deny the pain; I had been deeply hurt, and pretending otherwise wouldn’t serve me. But I also had not taken the time to be honest  with myself in the role I played in how things unfolded. As a victim, I was living “in effect” of my circumstances, handing over my power to something I couldn’t control. 

It wasn’t until my wife and a few trusted advisors offered some wise counsel that I recognized the truth: the path I was on, one marked by blame and resentment, was only prolonging the pain. As Nelson Mandela so powerfully understood, holding onto bitterness doesn’t punish others, it punishes you.  

While I couldn’t change what had happened, I could choose how I responded to it. So I chose to let go of the need to be right or confrontational and instead to focus on finding a path that was fair and constructive. 

Shortly thereafter we came to an amicable agreement on how to part ways. Once the dust had settled, I made a conscious decision to “seek first to understand before being understood.” I wanted to view the situation through my former partner’s lens; to understand his perspective and the pressures that shaped his decisions.

The Courage to Reach Back

On a trip back to Florida the following year, I reached out to meet my former partner to meet for lunch.  When we got together, we first exchanged the usual pleasantries and then moved into the difficult conversation of unpacking what had happened. 

He shared that the decision hadn’t been easy and that he had given it a lot of thought. While he initially leaned in a different direction, others involved felt it was the right course. He also acknowledged that how things unfolded wasn’t how he would’ve chosen and didn’t fully reflect his usual approach.

I listened carefully as I appreciated him opening up to share these insights with me. As I reflected, I could see that the way we were operating and leading the business would have eventually compromised the integrity of the company.

I came to the realization that when my partner and the board agreed to fire me, it was not out of personal malice but rather in the best interest of protecting the business. They did the best they could with what they knew at the time. While I did not like the tactics, I learned to accept that his actions were meant for de-risking an unhealthy dynamic.

We shared a meaningful meal but most importantly we both apologized for our role that led to the relationship breakdown.  I’ll always remember his closing words. He thanked me and reflected on how he had seen me live out my beliefs about seeking forgiveness in a real and personal way. While the conversation brought him peace, I walked away feeling like the true beneficiary; freed from old insecurities and a weight I didn’t realize I was still carrying.

I’m no longer part of Basic Fun, however my wife and I chose to keep our home in South Florida.  It’s a place that’s become more than just a location; it’s a hub of meaningful connection. Over the years, we’ve built a rich community there with people we deeply value, and I am proud to say that this includes Jay and his family. 

Final Thoughts: Your Unfinished Business

As I reflect on the experience and the Oasis concert, I’m deeply grateful the brothers found their way back to each other. I can only hope it wasn’t just a reunion driven by profit, but the beginning of genuine healing.

What I do know is this: standing in that rain-soaked stadium, watching my son’s face light up as Oasis played the soundtrack of my youth, I felt deep gratitude. The brothers' willingness to reconcile their relationship; also created space for my son and I to share a meaningful memory together.  And that’s the powerful truth; we may never fully grasp the ripple effects our courage to reconcile can have on those around us. Choosing to heal doesn’t just transform our own story; it sends waves of restoration into the lives of those connected to us. When we make peace, we create space for others to also find it.

With that in mind, I've come to learn that the three most powerful words in the English language are "I am sorry."  It takes real courage to seek reconciliation and to move past your hurts and to seek out healing.  The truth I have discovered is: the first to apologize is the bravest, the first to forgive is the strongest and the first to forget is the happiest.   

So I'll ask you: 

• Where do you have unfinished business that's keeping you stuck?
• What relationship could be restored with a single courageous conversation?
• Who in your life deserves to hear "I'm sorry" or "I forgive you"?

As the Gallagher brothers found out, on the other side of the discomfort of seeking our reconciliation is a better future.  As C.S. Lewis observed, "You cannot go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”  

Your future self; and perhaps your son or daughter standing beside you in some future moment, will thank you for having had the courage to try. 

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