The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when their tormentors suffer.
Interpretation
Vengefulness traps individuals in a cycle of dependency on those who wronged them, delaying their own healing.
This quote illustrates the ironic nature of seeking revenge; it highlights how a desire for vengeance can create an unhealthy dependency on the person who inflicted harm. Rather than achieving freedom from pain, the injured party ties their emotional well-being to the suffering of their tormentor, ultimately hindering their own healing process and personal growth.
In practice
In a discussion about forgiveness at a community gathering.
Every day after lunch when I was writing my first book, I'd nibble a square of fine chocolate and meditate on all that had gone into its creation: the sun and rain that spilled on the cocoa plant, the soil that nourished it, the hands that picked the beans, and so on. My taste of chocolate became a lesson on the interconnectedness of things, and the infinite blessings for which I am grateful.
I identified in a very deep way with the individuals I was writing about because the theme that runs through this story is of extraordinary hardship and the will to overcome it.
Without dignity, identity is erased.
It's easy to talk to a horse if you understand his language. Horses stay the same from the day they are born until the day they die. They are only changed by the way people treat them.
Most people, when they hear the disease name, it's all they know about it. It sounds so mild. When I first was sick, for the first 10 years or so, I was dismissed. I was ridiculed and told I was lazy. It was a joke.
For me, being a writer was never a choice. I was born one. All through my childhood I wrote short stories and stuffed them in drawers. I wrote on everything. I didn't do my homework so I could write
The principle of democracy is a recognition of the sovereign, inalienable rights of man as a gift from God, the Source of law.
God knows what we are going through when we grieve, and He wants to assure us of His love and concern. He also wants us to turn to Him and bring our heartaches and burdens to Him.
Life is a near-death experience.
It is not that the meaning cannot be explained. But there are certain meanings that are lost forever the moment they are explained in words.
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Am I full of the little things that cheer His heart over me, or am I whimpering because things are going hardly with me? There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes.
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