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What is vengeance besides just a projection of pain you refuse to accept and integrate?
The best form of vengeance is to become the most authentic version of yourself, despite the pain somebody attempted to minimize you with.
We tend to fear pain the most. It wrestles us from our shells of comfort to expose us to the dangers of vulnerability.
This is where vulnerability gains the reputation of weakness. To open yourself to another is to accept the inevitable risk of being taken advantage of for doing so.
If you continually open up, it is an inevitability this will happen. It’s only a matter of time.
Your response is what will determine whether you live honorably, a path of the highest good, or become a victim to circumstance and seek retribution for the illusion of being wronged.
Honor - early Old French. From c. 1300 as "action of honoring or paying respect to; act or gesture displaying reverence or esteem; state or condition inspiring respect; nobleness of character or manners; high station or rank; a mark of respect or esteem; a source of glory, a cause of good reputation."
A missing ingredient in modern culture is the notion of honor. To live in the highest esteem of character is a road less traveled, leading many to disregard the impact they have on others.
When you have been wronged, it is within our programming to seek an eye for an eye. This is the result of a rampant material status competition serving as the foundation of our culture.
I believe most people want to live honorably. They want to do good for themselves and the people they care about. But in a world where tyranny appears to conquer over a loving heart, many feel they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands by seeking vengeance. This is where the trap begins.
An honorable person understands there will be injustice in this world and they will act upon. It is dishonorable to turn a blind eye or allow yourself to be walked over. The difference between good and evil, or love and tyranny, is found in the intention of your response to injustice.
What would love do now? Would it pick up its sword knowing the only response is in defeating the tyrannical oppressor? Would it walk away, knowing there is no purpose in dying for a cause that does little to let love win? You must evaluate each circumstance as they come from a place of neutrality, even when there is a throbbing pain from the dagger stuck into your heart.
It is honorable to allow your enemies to eat, it just doesn’t have to be at your table.
Accept that there will be people who will appear well intentioned, but then dispose of you when it appears convenient to their ego.
If you are growing as an individual, you are destined to trigger others who want to stay stuck in their illusions of comfort. If they aren’t willing to accept change, let them go peacefully, even when they attempt to bring you down and minimize your progress.
Vengeance is a double-edged sword. You may feel temporary gratification from striking down your perceived oppressor.
Just know that energy will come back around when you unknowingly oppress due to a simple lack of self-awareness.
Assume the best intentions. Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
Honorable accountability for their actions is all that’s needed, and you may not be the one who’s meant to bring that to them.
Let go and make peace with yourself.
When the opportunity for vengeance is present, so is the possibility for immense inner transformation.
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Sometimes being wronged is not an "illusion" though whether it is Nazi concentration camps, or Zio-Nazis mass murdering women and children in Gaza. In those cases vengeance for the wronged dead is righteous.
great article. however, the concepts of honor and vengeance are strongly influenced by the culture they're part of. as an example: some elements considered by Europeans as honorable (such as compassion, forgiveness) is perceived as weak and therefore not honorable at all in Japanese culture or, say, among the Italian 'ndrangheta. also the 'eye for an eye' is intimately connected to human beings, even in young children ('he slaps me, i'll kick him'). complicated concepts, but a most interesting discussion :-))