"On Forgiveness"

I got a book a few years ago with a bunch of essays by C.S. Lewis. Over interim I found myself reading an essay "On Forgiveness." Lewis talks about forgiveness, how he doesn't usually grasp its meaning. He says, “I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. Forgiveness says ‘Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.’ But excusing says; I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it; you weren’t really to blame.’ If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive. . .But the trouble is that what we call ‘asking God’s forgiveness’ very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses. . .We are so very anxious to point out [our excuses] to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to forget the really important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which the excuses don’t cover, the bit which is inexcusable but not, thank God unforgivable. . .Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness, and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it. That, and only that, is forgiveness, and that we can always have from God if ask for it."
Ok, thats a pretty long quote. I just couldn't leave any of it out... Forgiveness is something I don't often think about. My religion- my claim is that my life is based on forgiveness. Jesus died for my sins. I'm forgiven. If I thought about this everyday, If I sought to understand exactly what it means to be forgiven- my life would be drastically different. No day could possibly be that bad- how can I complain about menial things when ALL of my sins have been forgiven- forever- on nothing I have done? How can I possibly have a bad attitude- if I realize I'm forgiven, I'm debt-free? How can I feel inferior if I remember that God loves me, God wants a relationship with me- even though I'm sinful. I have not even begun to understand the depths of God's forgiveness.