How sweet is Revenge?

It's been a while since i last posted an article in my blog. Well, something prompted me to do so and i feel the need the share it with others from my female point of view (guys might have their own take on this, i reckon) before many fall for his trap.

Few weeks back, I stumbled upon a Facebook account of one guy (I address him as Mr D'Royale Fren) I used to befriended with just to find out that he is an imposter preying for young girls for his mission to take vengeance for himself. I still can't get it cos he seems to live such a perfect life with perfect wife and beautiful daughter. Perhaps something had happened in the past and he just couldn't let go and thus urge him the necessity to inflict punishment in retaliation for something harmful that they have done to him.

Taking one example I got from the internet for instance. It was about a young lady named Theresa Wilson. She is no exception from feeling offended and hurt too. It was only about an hour later that she spotted him driving on the street in front of her. So she put her frustration in action to ram his car. Not once but twice. After the second slam into his rear bumper, she had forced the car off the road. Only when the driver got out and started toward her did she realize her mistake. It wasn't her former boyfriend. It was a confused fellow driving a car similar to his!

For her out-of-control assault on an unsuspecting and innocent driver, Ms. Wilson was arrested by state troopers on charges of vehicular assault. She not only learned that several different makes of compact cars from the 1980s look very much alike, but that revenge is seldom as sweet as it looks from a distance.

Before we are too harsh with an angry woman bent on revenge, maybe the rest of us need to ask ourselves a few questions: How prone am I to harbor a grudge? How inclined to get even when wronged? How quick to take offense?

Nobody likes to be rejected. Nobody likes the feeling of humiliation and injury that comes of the experience. We human beings have feelings and don't appreciate having them stomped and betrayed. Let us pause for a while and take sometime to think of consequences of the action before we even out a score.

I am a religious follower of 'The adventure of Merlin' tv series; its aired every Sundays at 9pm. There is a line near the end of Camelot that stuck in my mind the first time I heard it. As King Arthur surveys the ruin and carnage of war, he looks forlornly over the landscape and laments that revenge is "the most worthless of causes."

Countless wars have been fought to avenge tarnished honor. Friendships have been destroyed, marriages broken apart, and children set against their parents for this most worthless of causes. Simply because it leads to such terrible outcomes, most of the great ethical teachers across the centuries have rebuked the urge to retaliate.

If you have suffered some slight that is haunting you still and tempting you to get even, you might reflect on Theresa's experience. Is the pettiness of revenge any less if you ram the right car? Hurt the person you intended to injure? Or does retaliation simply diminish you and reveal your lack of character? Revenge is never about getting even but is always a form of falling below another person. Only forgiveness allows you to rise above.

Nearly everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. Perhaps your mother criticized your cooking skills or your partner had an affair. These wounds can leave you with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness and even vengeance — but if you don't practice forgiveness, you may be the one who pays most dearly. By embracing forgiveness, you embrace peace, hope, gratitude and joy. Forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended you may always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, positive parts of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you.

Forgiveness doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong. You can forgive the person without excusing the act. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps you go on with life. After all, revenge might seems sweet in the beginning but the aftermath could be restless and it is one you have to deal with for the rest of your life. Think about the butterfly effect.