What shall I do?

[donq]

Someone's done a bad thing to me, what will I do? And if it were you, what would you do?

1. an eye for an eye?

-Hmm...no, I'm trying to be a good spiritual person, this is not my option.

2. Walk away?

-But that doesn't look like I'm afraid of them?

3. Forgive them?
-Good grief! It's a lot easier said than done. Besides, they already were lucky that I didn't kick their assets. Why do I have to forgive them?

Confucius said: “The petty man is not ashamed of being unkind, nor is he afraid of being unjust. If he does not see an advantage in something, he does not act, and, if he is not threatened by force, he is not chastised. For small matters, one chastises him, so that for great matters, he takes warning. This is how the petty man prospers.”

Well, then, at least, I don't want to be a petty man, do I? Taking revenge is not unkind, for sure. As for forgiving them, just give me a bit more time.

[hera]

Sorry to read that Donq and I know it's hard to forgive, but the only person getting hurt by not forgiving is yourself not the person who has done this. It will possibly eat away at you causing mental and physical distress, so I'm sending lots of positivity that you will be able to find the calm strength to move on from this.

[donq]

Thanks, Hera. You are so kind.

Hmm... Somehow I still feel like this song lyrics:

I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
(Labrinth's Jealous)

I mean, why I feel I will be happy if they finally get miseries they deserve, though not from my band, but from someone's else. Will that make me a petty/bad man?

[hera]

Not not bad or petty, just human Donq. I completely understand how you're feeling and wanting revenge for being hurt it's completely natural, but do you see how it's hurting you and not this person?

[donq]

Thanks again, Hera,

Can I ask you something? How do you deal with your friends in the real life? I mean, all of us who come here are interested in spirituality, our friends in the real life might not. For example, they like gambling, drinking, flirting, even killing etc. Walking away from them make you become a bad friend? Pretending who you are not is not a good spiritual person either. So, how do we do? Compartmentalizing? How?

[mojomojo]

Evening all,
your topic brings forth the question, can you walk a spiritual path, while living in this world?
Yes, if you do not mind been walked on.
People will pick up on your peaceful ways and take advantage, it’s a fact of this world, where the bottom line is, might is right.
Jesus Christ was murdered, his apostles left running for their lives.
The other option is solitude, stay away from people, but I do not see that as a viable option.
I have tried to find a mid way point but there doesn’t seem to be one, you are either under the influence of God consciousness or the ego mind.
Is it possible to combine both?

[donq]

Hi Robert,

True. It's hard (if not impossible) to walk my spiritual path while living in the world. Let me give you an example here, once I honestly told someone, say, my new pen-friend, the truth that I was a poor writer, she was so upset and asked why I had to tell here that. Sure, I never heard from her again. It seems I have to forget my honesty when being in the world, as it's best for them and for me.
You asked if it is possible to combine both. I believe it depends. Life has taught me that we have to learn what is not before we know what (really) is. Always in that order. And, as far as I know now, it seems impossible to combine both. At least, you have to lose one to gain one.

P.S. Long time, no see. Hope you are fine. Take care.
Monty

[mojomojo]

Hi Monty,
Unfortunately, I have to agree with everything you say, it does seem to be near impossible to be a spiritual person in this world today.
It is also very hard to turn your back on what you know to be true, and delve back into the turmoil of everyday life under the influence of the ego mind, knowing full well the insanity of it all, and that it doesn’t have to be this way.
But what do we do, stay true to our path, and suffer at the hands of those who engage the lower mindset.
Is that our purpose to suffer in this life, and if enough suffer, will it change anything.
For the large part, I isolate myself as much as possible, it gets to the stage where you get fed up dealing with people, but that can not be the answer either, or maybe it is.
I don’t have any other answer.
It was good to see you still making the effort on this forum, it seems everyone else has left.
Stay strong, Monty.

[donq]

Hi Robert,

When thinking about it, why many venerable monks love to live alone? I believe with their spiritual gains they won't have any problem living in the world, still they choose to live in solitude. And, no, I don't mean those fake gurus who love being famous and money.

I'm like you, isolating myself, both from my part and the other around. I mean, when I accidentally/unconsciously showed my spiritual self in the world and got bad result/rejecting, I just learned from it and laughed at it. That's all.

Thanks for your kind words. It means a lot. Yes, so many times I wanted to quit posting here. When I posted something and no one cared to read, then, why bother? But I think that the forum like this must keep going to the next generation. So, my embarrassment/disappointment mean nothing. lol
monty