Doe, A Deer

[Zorra]

22. Very good. I believe most conscious people struggle mightily to forgive

those who have most grievously and unjustly harmed them in some way. Many times this type of grievous unjust harm comes in the form of harm to loved ones, which often affects us more intensely than direct harm caused to ourselves.

If everyone always lived according to the tenet "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", human beings would have become extinct long ago. Politically, right here on DU, most who would be considered "left" wish to use the political system to help bring about a culture of kindness, where kindness snowballs into a culture that institutionalizes kindness. Where ugly things like greed, poverty, ignorance, war, and hate, etc. are the very rare exceptions to the norm. We'll never remotely succeed in doing this if we don't live kindness individually, to the greatest degree of which we are capable, even when frustrated by ignorant malicious people and sociopaths. Both of whom, unfortunately, seem to need to be restrained from harming others, in the kindest way possible, as a kindness to them, and to those they cause harm, or would cause harm.

Maybe the best form of restraint would be to individually and collectively live kindness, so that this, as an example, teaches that being kind to ourselves and others is a much more pleasant and satisfying way to be than being destructive to ourselves and others.

I don't have the answers; I only believe what seems to be the best way for me to be. It's been years of constant struggle to continue to forgive those who deliberately harmed my family. When someone harms our loved ones, it often takes a form of a lasting assault on our own energy and consciousness that we really want to go away, but can't seem to make go away. Sometimes we can hide it for awhile in some recess in our consciousness, but there are always things that will trigger memories that bring it out again The most productive line of reasoning for me is to feel it is a powerful lesson and reminder of what I never want to do, and how I don't ever want to be. I never want to be the cause of this type of pain and inner conflict in another person's existence.