Jun 05 2009
An eye for an eye, is that the best way to live?
“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
~ M.K. Gandhi
I am such a mess when it comes to this quote. I disagree with the way most people use this quote. So many people use it just to try to validate their beliefs. I see it in a way of encouraging you to become a better person. I personally always try to find a way to take every situation, learn from it and use it to become even better. I am not the type of person, nor do I encourage the one who dwells on the down points in life.
I do not think that it is right to go out and try to get revenge on another person for a mistake that they once made. I do believe that there are good people who make mistakes, some even make years of mistakes. I do not think that gives you a right to stoop to a whole new low for yourself! I think you need to take the high road. When you go around and do bad to others that has been done to you in the past all that you are doing is creating bad karma for yourself.
I know some people sit at home and find ways to justify themselves being a lower version of themselves than they really can be, and are meant to be. They say things like well you don’t know what “I’ve been through”, or “I have a horrible life” and more ridiculous excuses. Well, I have two responses for that, one is that you never have any idea what another person has been through either. You have no idea that what you went through was worse than the happy person next to you in the line at the store; maybe they just decided not to be a victim to their pain. The second response to your bad attitude is that you know that there is always someone who has it worse than you! Yes, many people go through terrible heart wrenching moments in their life, I have said many times and I will say again that I believe that the way you handle them is what counts!
You are who you allow yourself to be! Don’t hold yourself back because you think that it is your job to get back at every person who ever wronged you. If you feel the need to respond to something bad that another does then be sure to always take the high road! Even if you have to get a little joy out of your response to their bad behavior then just smile and walk the other way! Trust me, they hate that!
I really like this post. Especially your form of getting under their skin. “just smile and walk the other way”
Talk about a slap to the face
I have been hurt during my life. For better or for worse that is just a fact of life. I don’t believe in revenge but I don’t believe in putting the other cheek either. I will draw back at first, establish that something is wrong and that I will not tolerate whatever action, comment towards me (I think there are times that attitude is more effective that words that might fall in empty ears anyway; just like you said “smile and walk away” I just don’t generally smile).
But if things become worse, I simply will not acknowledge the other person. And this is not hypothetical, I do it still, to the same person that I am forced by circumstance to see on a regular bases. I say hello, I say good bye but that’s about it. There is no conversation, no smiles and good will. And I do not wish harm or bad luck either. I believe in second chances (and third and forth… but there is a limit somewhere) and I do not judge lightly, it takes a monumental kind of wrong for me to ignore someone in the same room.
I believe that there are plenty of people in the world, people who can give you so much. Fun times, friendship, a helping hand, lessons… we are here to learn from life and one another and share what we learn and… ENJOY to the fullest. There is no time in my life for people who take away instead of giving. I have no time to spare building a relationship upon rotten ground.
I do agree with you when you say that you cannot waste time building a relationship upon rotten ground! Sometimes there are just people in your life who just are not open minded enough, or even mature enough to say, “Okay, let’s agree to disagree and move on to another subject!”.
I do have some people in my life where I just do not get why they live their lives in the way that they do. I am a very relaxed person as long as I see that you learned from a mistake you made then it is very easy for me to throw that mistake in the wind and live for the future.
I do have some people in my life, as well, that I just cannot find a common ground with. It seems as though their outlook on life seems to be very small or close minded compared to mine in my opinion, in those cases I too just say smiple comments and try to stay as general as possible without getting into a deep conversation with them. In my most dramatic cases they are people who are related to my loved ones in some way so I always stay respectful but don’t go out of my way to make them a part of my life!
I think there is a difference between going an eye for an eye at another individual, from just knowing when a relationship is not healthy with another person and keeping them at a distance.