A few days ago me and my two other friends were discussing about the possibility of World War III happening. My guy friend (let’s call him M) asked this question:
“Why does war have to happen? We are living in the 21st century. We have come a long way from the medieval times. Science and technology has evolved so much and yet our brains and thoughts are still stuck in old times, where war is the only way. There has to be some way to settle the world’s problems without subjecting to war.”
I kind of agreed to that statement. My reply to that was, we live in a world where there are so many people, and every one of those people have their own thoughts, characteristics, and belief. Some may be able to think the way we are but others, we can’t control them or their thoughts.
My other friend (also known as S) decided to answer his question:
“The reason war happens is because some people like to hurt other people. So, the person that is hurt has the right to do some pay back and have revenge. For example, if someone pushed me and I fell, I would push him back. Since we are adults, we can’t go off to our parents and complain to them so that they could fix it. So we have to deal with things on our own.”
I disagreed with this statement. It felt wrong. What a way of thinking, I thought. So I said “But there is another way to respond to that. You have other more diplomatic ways to respond to that.”
S replied back to me “But if that person hurt me, then he needs to know how that feels.”
After that answer, M and S continued the discussion while my thoughts start to wander. I started to think, is it wrong to not respond back to that kind of situation? Am I oppressed if I was pushed but instead of pushing them back, I walk away? Does that mean that I am weak if I don’t push them back? Is tit for tat the way to go? For a minute, I doubted myself. I have always figured that that’s not the way to respond to things. That’s what my mother has always taught me. Have I been wrong all along?
So I did what every person would do when they had these questions. I googled. I read some posts on other sites and blogs, trying to shed some light. And it made me realize. In that situation, if someone were to push me and I respond by not pushing them back, it is not weakness that I have. Instead, it is strength. It shows massive maturity. It shows massive courage and control. It shows the ability of forgiveness.
Of course, this depends on the situation. There would be times or situations where we have to teach someone and feed them with the taste of their own medicine. But other times, it may not be the right way, especially if it is just a small issue. It may even cause other innocent people to get hurt. Being revengeful all the time is not good for the heart either. When your soul is filled with bad thoughts, negative energy could consume you and it might make you be easily irritated or angry even when you shouldn’t be. This world is already filled with bad people who like to hurt other people, so why not be a change and be the kind hearted ones instead. Be the bigger person. The world would be a better place.
As Gandhi once said:
You must be the change you wish to see in the world
The Giggles 