I have a lot of feelings about that word, or really, the action.
It seems like avenging someone was an everyday occurrence not so long ago. And while I’ve never been avenged, if something horrible went down to me or someone in my circle, I feel like we’d be able to move on a whole lot quicker if the act was taken care of immediately, and in a no-nonsense way.
But as always, the good Lord has never afforded me black and white thinking. Once I make a firm decision, gray comes to the forefront.
Like, what impact would an eye-for-an-eye have on the perpetrator’s family? And what about the perpetrator? Because what terrible thing must’ve happened to that person for them to commit something as horrid as rape or murder? To me, it seems highly unlikely that a well-loved, peaceful person would be compelled to do such a thing. And if that’s the case, do we punish even more by mobbing to death someone who has been abused to bursting capacity?
I don’t have an answer.
My guess is the same as I have for everything lately. Prevention. Be a little kinder than you feel like being. Reach out to someone first. Beam love into those who are behaving hateful to you, and to protect yourself, visualize sending the negative energy back to the originator on an arrow. And if you can’t do any of these things, remember that you can always pray for strength.
Anyway, these are just some of the thoughts that run obsessively through my mind on cold winter days. C’mon Spring!
P.S. Oh, and you can thank my daughter Tara for putting this particular thought into my head, and now yours.
The photo: this year’s eclipse. How powerful that was, and what a thrill!