Quite right. Endlessly held and constantly nurtured grievances are the death of mental peace, and quite often the cause of actual violence as well, both on a person-to-person scale and on a national scale. Perhaps to be rid of them it's necessary first to acknowledge the perverse pleasure they bring, in turning focus away from one's own …
Quite right. Endlessly held and constantly nurtured grievances are the death of mental peace, and quite often the cause of actual violence as well, both on a person-to-person scale and on a national scale. Perhaps to be rid of them it's necessary first to acknowledge the perverse pleasure they bring, in turning focus away from one's own shortcomings and pinning them on others. There is pain involved in letting go. But the benefits are tremendous. Maintaining a set of lies inside takes (and wastes) lots of mental energy, since all around are things which threaten to break the façade. The good news is that it doesn't take dynamite to stop playing those kinds of games, only a genuine awareness of how destructive they are, which anyone can come to with some effort.
Thanks for adding your astute comments, JdL. Perhaps not so perverse but with purpose to shore up our self-concept which is built, in part, by being in conflict. As you say, awareness is always the antidote.
Quite right. Endlessly held and constantly nurtured grievances are the death of mental peace, and quite often the cause of actual violence as well, both on a person-to-person scale and on a national scale. Perhaps to be rid of them it's necessary first to acknowledge the perverse pleasure they bring, in turning focus away from one's own shortcomings and pinning them on others. There is pain involved in letting go. But the benefits are tremendous. Maintaining a set of lies inside takes (and wastes) lots of mental energy, since all around are things which threaten to break the façade. The good news is that it doesn't take dynamite to stop playing those kinds of games, only a genuine awareness of how destructive they are, which anyone can come to with some effort.
Thanks for adding your astute comments, JdL. Perhaps not so perverse but with purpose to shore up our self-concept which is built, in part, by being in conflict. As you say, awareness is always the antidote.