Resent not evil.
That's a principle of life I think everyone should encounter. In his book, Holistic Christianity, Joseph Conti talks about this idea which was always meant to change how we deal with everyone. The principle comes from many a typical experience when emotional states, mostly negative, are passed on through us. Someone barks at you, you bark back or worse, you transfer the negative energy to other people through hostile language. Rather than acknowledging these daily usurpations for what they are, we instead go about our motions, mechanically reacting to and internalizing what we have received.
Conti draws up an interesting analogy for this. He invites us to think about life as a relay race. "A baton is handed off from runner to runner and travels far. In much the same way, resentment snakes it way in daily life from person to person as a bewitching baton, causing hurt, confusion, anxiety, bitterness, and emptiness-as one person passes it on to the next, hardly aware of what its passing is costing him, or costing the one who receives this hideous baton."
The solution then? Resent not evil. Accept that all of us are in pain and resolve to not add further to that pain. Conti says it better, "We must try to see things from the other's position, aware of his or her difficulties. He passed on the bewitching baton because he did not know better; now that we are beginning to know better, we must neither internalize it nor pass it back, but dissolve it through the magic of Resent not evil."
"Be kind, for everyone is fighting a great battle (Plato)."
Another analogy comes into mind. This principle invites us to be like human sponges. Although not quite as elegant as the baton, this analogy pretty much stresses the importance of this principle in society. A sponge absorbs dirt, oil, and grime and spews out soap and water, effectively cleansing whatever disgusting dishware you have in your hands. Just like a sponge, we should endeavor to answer every bit of rudeness and anger with good will and kindness. In this way, we help out each other by minimizing the emotions which impede our relations.
I guess such a principle runs contrary to what we are being taught. We've been taught to never bottle up our emotions but instead, let it all out lest these infect our emotional equilibrium. But the principle advises another way; let go of the moment, turn the other cheek, be like JC. In the end, that's a better way to live a life.
That's a principle of life I think everyone should encounter. In his book, Holistic Christianity, Joseph Conti talks about this idea which was always meant to change how we deal with everyone. The principle comes from many a typical experience when emotional states, mostly negative, are passed on through us. Someone barks at you, you bark back or worse, you transfer the negative energy to other people through hostile language. Rather than acknowledging these daily usurpations for what they are, we instead go about our motions, mechanically reacting to and internalizing what we have received.
Conti draws up an interesting analogy for this. He invites us to think about life as a relay race. "A baton is handed off from runner to runner and travels far. In much the same way, resentment snakes it way in daily life from person to person as a bewitching baton, causing hurt, confusion, anxiety, bitterness, and emptiness-as one person passes it on to the next, hardly aware of what its passing is costing him, or costing the one who receives this hideous baton."
The solution then? Resent not evil. Accept that all of us are in pain and resolve to not add further to that pain. Conti says it better, "We must try to see things from the other's position, aware of his or her difficulties. He passed on the bewitching baton because he did not know better; now that we are beginning to know better, we must neither internalize it nor pass it back, but dissolve it through the magic of Resent not evil."
"Be kind, for everyone is fighting a great battle (Plato)."
Another analogy comes into mind. This principle invites us to be like human sponges. Although not quite as elegant as the baton, this analogy pretty much stresses the importance of this principle in society. A sponge absorbs dirt, oil, and grime and spews out soap and water, effectively cleansing whatever disgusting dishware you have in your hands. Just like a sponge, we should endeavor to answer every bit of rudeness and anger with good will and kindness. In this way, we help out each other by minimizing the emotions which impede our relations.
I guess such a principle runs contrary to what we are being taught. We've been taught to never bottle up our emotions but instead, let it all out lest these infect our emotional equilibrium. But the principle advises another way; let go of the moment, turn the other cheek, be like JC. In the end, that's a better way to live a life.
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