I know you have had several times in your life where you have wanted to take revenge on someone who caused you pain. I certainly have. In fact, I can identify three times in my life where I have wanted to take revenge so profoundly that I would dream about it at night and fantasize about it during the day. The desire to take revenge inside me was very strong and it took a great deal of work, on my part, not to act on it.
The passion for revenge is powerful and can be overwhelming. It is a primitive, destructive, and sometimes violent response to injury, anger, or humiliation.
It is a misguided attempt to transform shame into pride, to become a victor instead of victim, to punish the perpetrator equally, if not more than you were pained, and to transform your sense of powerlessness into power. Continue reading
