A Cycle of Violence

Raise your hand if you have been wronged by another. Have you ever been made to feel less than, belittled, victimized?

I think it is simple to say that each and every person that has ever existed on this planet has at one point or another been the victim or target of someone else’s malicious hate. As horrible and unfortunate as suffering is the fact remains that we all do suffer.

Now I will speak from experience here and say that when I was younger and was bullied and picked on nothing made me feel more alive than diving to a deep part of my mind and creating waves of unrelenting violence and rage against my oppressor. I went to so deep dark places and sometimes I even acted on these horrible forms of rage and every time I did I came out of it feeling like I lost apart of my soul.

I wasn’t a bad person, I wasn’t a violent person. I love people, usually. Then how is it that some other person or persons can turn me from a man of peace to a man of war? Well, it’s fear. That’s right fear causes me to act in a destructive way to my fellow human that made me feel weak or worthless.

Why?

Well because if they think they can call me names and get away with it than they probably think they can kill me and my family and get away with that also and that is just a bit to far pal.

So, I fight back. I retaliate with reckless abandon and force. I go for the kill before the kill comes for me.

This is the psychology of human survival and it’s the reason the world is in the dumpster right now. We find ourselves at a very difficult time in human history. We are set up with the ability to go about living the way we have for the last 6,000 years killing, raping, stealing and just generally being shit heads to eachother or we can choose something different.

We can break the cycle.

We can break the cycle and I say “we” as in each and every single human being on this planet has the power.

Here is what we must do.

We must forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

We must love our enemies and pray for their freedom.

We must let go of our fear and grab onto our faith.

We must break this cycle of violence. It will not stop by continuing to do violence against one another.

The system is broken, it feeds itself by the destruction of us destroying each other.

The first step to escaping Hell is accepting that you are in it. Then we stop participating in Hellish games.

The cycle will continue until we come to forgiveness not just of each other but of ourselves. We have all been victims and we have all been oppressors. We are not meant to be Judges not of this world and its people.

If you don’t know how to forgive those that have done you harm do not start with them, start instead with yourself and be honest. Have you done harm to yourself, are you living in a loving way towards your own life? If the answer is no, then that’s ok, forgive yourself.

We need Grace now more than ever, the Grace to know that we are imperfect and do horrible things but now that we are aware we can choose to stop the cycle of bad choices and live in a way that is truly free.

If not Forgiveness then what? I am open to suggestions.