Morality of Mistakes

I have a question. How many mistakes do you have to make to become a bad person? When do you cross the threshold? It's all relative, of course. I think it is extremely important to keep in mind relativity and subjectivity. If you begin to believe you are one thing or another, you've decided that there is truth in all of this madness. A man who commits murder can be accepted by a community who believes killing to be an intrinsic, evolutionary instinct of our species. This concept strip away the "good" or "bad" of it all. Which is not entirely a bad thing. Sometimes you need to look at why something or someone is considered "good" or "bad". Of course, something such as murder, which can be almost objectively seen as harmful to our species as a whole, is an example of something we usually consider to be bad. Of course, there is the death penalty. Murder is acceptable as long as it's done to someone who deserves it. And, of course, as long as the government is the one doing it. The government sanctions murders (and slavery, but what else is new there). What a fascinating concept. This leads me to my original question. If a murderer was thrown into an entirely new situation, with entirely new people who had no clue of the crimes he committed, and never committed a crime as heinous as murder again, this person is accepted. So, do actions dictate how "good" of a person someone is? Many would say yes, but what about forgiveness? If you already condemn a person, forgiveness is take completely out of the equation. You kill a person without really knowing who they are. I'm not advocating for murderers to be forgiven but mistakes are what they are. In truth, people will always be ignorant of other people. One person looks at me, how I smile, my kind deeds, and dictates who I am based on them. Another looks at my mistakes, my failures and does the same. Two people with completely different opinions of who I am, neither seeing the full picture. One person I share laughs with everything I see them, with them I share intense love and respect. With another I have been condemned, thrown into a category of trash within their mind which spreads through word of mouth. Neither of these people are right. Neither is fair for them. I am only a person. We are only people. We are all both good and bad, and neither. We can only forgive ourselves for our misdeeds, we can not rely on the forgiveness of others. Forgiving yourself, though, must also come with a change. If it doesn't, it is hollow, and I feel it. I have forgiven myself for many mistakes I've made. I know the people I've hurt may still see me in a negative light. That's okay. I move forward with my head high and my mind focused on helping others rather than helping myself. This is the only way I can forgive myself. I feel shame and guilt so intensely, even though when I share my thoughts they're almost always dismissed as being nothing of importance. My body feels differently. When I believe I've made a mistake I will hold onto it with such an intense grip that my body and mind fail to process anything but the shame. But I know that I can't be perfect. I am only human. I will always be ready to apologize and pay my dues for whatever mistakes I make but I also must have the ability to forgive myself. I must love myself. Respect my mistakes and move on from the shame to forgiveness, and then to change. I will never make the same mistakes again.