“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” ~Gandhi
When I was younger, I thought of winning in terms of revenge. I thought that if I felt hurt by bullies, they won. Or if I sat around feeling sad about an ex-boyfriend, he won. On the flip side, if I grew up to be successful, that would be the best revenge against anyone who hurt me.
In being happy, confident, and successful, I would have won.
What a sad way to think, that it’s all one giant score card of them against us. That we’re in a competition to come out on top, and anyone who wronged us, intentionally or not, needs to lose for it to be okay.
It may feel good to imagine there’s a consequence for treating you thoughtlessly. But in the end, what we really want isn’t for other people to suffer or have less than us. We want to make peace with the past so that we can know success and happiness that has nothing to do with our stories.
We want to feel free from the burden of keeping score, knowing that we don’t have to prove we didn’t deserve whatever happened.
We can make that choice on any day. On any day we can take yesterday’s pain out of today’s commitment to joy. Today I make that choice. Do you?
Buddha with pink sky image via Shutterstock
About Lori Deschene
Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 