Vengeance


“Men regard it as their right to return evil for evil – and, if they cannot, they feel that they have lost their liberty”
Aristotle

Early in the fourth chapter of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, “Jane Eyre”, Jane recalled her first taste of what she calls “something of vengeance”. For her, vengeance seemed like aromatic wine because, after swallowing it, it felt warm and racy – but – its after-taste was metallic and corroding, giving her the sensation as if she had been poisoned. This is a beautiful analogy of the nature of vengeance. Jane did not stop there, she added the following:

A half an hour’s silence and reflection had shown me the madness of my conduct, and the dreariness of my hated and hating position.

This is usually the final outcome of revenge. At first, it feels good, but then you realise the nonsensical and wickedness of your behaviour. John Milton expresses the truth of what I just said, so well, when he says that revenge is indeed sweet, but though at first sweet, before long the bitter taste will recoil back on itself.

Yes, vengeance, retribution, revenge, retaliation, and payback – they all have one thing in common – they add fuel to the fire of the law: "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind". Do you want to continue on the trend of blinding the world, or do you want to do the right thing?

Think about it, revenge only convert a little right into a great wrong. What is the use of falling into a rage of vengeance? Keep in mind that those plotting the destruction of others often perish in that very same attempt. This is in line with the thinking of Confucius. This sage made it clear that if ever you decide to start your journey of revenge, then first make sure you dig two graves – one for your target and one for YOU. My question to you is this. When you revert to taking revenge, does that not place you on an even par with that of your enemy? However, when you pass it over, are you then not superior to that of your wrongdoer? The answer to both – yes indeed. If somebody do you wrong, let it be a revelation of that person’s character, and either address that or cut that individual from your life. Life is too short to waste on vengeance, never forget that. There is more pleasure in forgiving your enemies and moving on, with or without them in your lives, than reverting to vengeance. May this be your goal for today and every other day!

Revenge surely isn't sweet,
put that today in your tweet.
Something worth believing,
is the joy in the act of forgiving.


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