The Sweetest Revenge

“The best revenge is massive success.” ~ Frank Sinatra


Throughout the years, I’ve met many people; many of them have survived some kind of abuse. Interestingly enough, after they were no longer abused by others, they picked up where others left off, and violated themselves even worse than any of their oppressors ever did.

It is not uncommon for victims of abuse – physical, verbal or mental – to self-sabotage. Going into the trigger mechanisms of such a response would indeed require a much longer discussion than what can be afforded in a blog post, as would the analysis of each unique type of response, but we can safely assess that most individuals who have suffered an emotional trauma as a consequence of abuse tend to indulge in behaviors which validate the actions of the abusers rather than dispelling them.

Let’s assume, for example, that someone was repeatedly told they could not amount to anything in life, and they were led to believe that their actions were a ticket straight to hell. In many cases, they had probably felt incapable and smothered at every corner. Let’s say, now, that this individual is finally free – at least physically – from the person who abused them. The first thing they would probably do, the moment they are able to control their own lives, is to indulge in the very same behaviors their abuser used as ammunition to gain control over them.

By continuing the abuse that others had begun, we only validate the faulty perception they have of us. No matter what happened, we don’t need to let the abuse go any further, especially if we are now the ones in the driver’s seat. If someone never believed we could amount to anything, and we turn their vision into reality, we choose to give them more power than they were ever entitled to have. If, instead, we focus on cracking their assumption, and we direct our energies to shifting the sail toward a positive current, we have instantly broken the drama and won the battle.

Nobody ever said that revenge must walk a rocky trail. Skipping over the rocks that were placed on our path to make us fall is the best way to show the world that we are finally free from the chains of the past.

Unveiling Karma

“Look to be treated by others as you have treated others.” ~Publius Syrus

I heard an interesting story, yesterday, which made me think of Karma. A lady I know was telling me about two of her neighbors and the feud that has been taking place between them.

The neighbors were angry because of some issues in their subdivision; when one of the two heard about the other neighbor being seriously injured after falling from her horse, she laughed it off and claimed that the other lady only got what she deserved. It wasn’t even two weeks after that, when the son of the bitter neighbor got in a car wreck, and sustained the same injuries as the lady who fell off the horse. As she was relating the incident to me, my friend simply blurted out: “Karma never fails”.

Karma is a word that in the past few years has been abused more than used. So, what exactly is Karma?

We all have heard stories which reflect the old saying “What goes around comes around”, but why does it? Is there a force behind it all that keeps score, or do we do so ourselves?

Karma is the scorekeeper of or own soul. In negative instances, it would be accurate to say that Karma is soul guilt.

Whenever we do something good - or something wrong - our conscious mind notes the action, and sends a message to our subconscious mind, the part of ourselves which links to the Universal mind of creation. If the message is positive, the subconscious mind holds on to it for a while, then triggers behaviors that will enable our achievement of good things. If we subconsciously feel we are worthy of receiving the blessings Universe has to offer, we will open our door to them.

Similarly, if the message sent to the subconscious is a negative one, the stored triggers enable behaviors that will cause us to fail and get what we feel is our just deserved.

Of course, none of these processes take place on a conscious level. When we feel we have been wronged, and react according to the suggestions of our ego - or when we do something which is not for the greater good - we might believe we are right and justified, but our soul knows differently and keeps note.

The goal of our soul-body is to grow and conquer those blocks that need to be removed before enlightenment can be possible. Although an act of revenge or greed is justified in “earthly” terms, it is never accepted by our soul. That is what Jesus himself meant when he suggested turning the other cheek after being slapped.

Life is but a mirror of our inner world. By changing the way we respond to people and events, we change our future, for that is the nature of Karma.