I have been wrestling with the concept of forgiveness for a while now. The analyses I've read talk about forgiving someone for harm done and thereby releasing ourselves of the burden of resentment and self-righteousness, in that order.

I think it works the other way around. When I release my resentment, let it go; when I detach myself from my ego driven self-righteousness, I discover, much to my surprise, that forgiveness has taken place, all unintentional, indeed, unbeknownst to me until I looked for it. It is a kind of grace flowing from right thinking (a Buddhist concept).