The Question Of Forgiveness and Revenge

Who did never hurt anyone and who has never been hurt himself? There are no such people. What differentiates us from each other is the ability or inability to forgive. Sometimes we help each other—we fulfill wishes, show compassion and help to complete difficult tasks. However it happens and we lie, we cannot keep a promise, we act contrary, we quarrel. I believe that in life it is important to be able to forgive, no matter how much you got hurt, as forgiving is the quality of strong-willed people.

Forget resentment, step over the pride and be happy - not everyone is able to understand a person and what they are going through, and it is a really valuable skill in my opinion. Vengeance destroys human relationships and even ruins our own moral qualities, as well as has a negative impact on both our mental and physical health. The worst cases of vengeance can even lead to crimes and murders.

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To forgive is to understand the motives of a person who acted incorrectly or made a mistake, therefore I think virtue has more value than vengeance.

In order to live happily we need to love everything and everyone around us. On one hand, we may think it is easy—we simply can run away from things we don’t like, from facts that annoy us and people that make us angry. But human nature is different and often times when we don’t like something we will overthink and often come up with a plan of revenge.

In fact, revenge can be seen as a painful condition that feels in the whole body from brain to fingertips, it can capture a person just as love and force him or her to do strange things, which they will bitterly regret. Revenge may even lead to crime. Studies by BBC Russia show that up to 20% of murders and 60% of school shootings are related to revenge. In his play, The Tempest, William Shakespeare raises the question of forgiveness and revenge. Prospero has intentions of getting revenge, and us readers can see that he is using magic to get what he he wants.

'Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour

Lies at my mercy all mine enemies.

Shortly shall my labors end, and thou

Shalt have the air at freedom. For a little

Follow and do me service.'

Act 4, Sc. 1 Lines 291-295

Nonetheless, I think Prospero is a great man as even though he is taking his revenge, he still makes sure he does not hurt anyone.There are many ways that our relationships can be ruined, but on of the main ones is the disability to forgive. Human nature is not perfect and we do make mistakes from time to time. Vengeance is disrespectful and shows the absence of understanding and compassion towards someone’s acts. Anger only begets more anger—in The Tempest both Caliban and Prospero expect the other to be awful, and they only get what they expect. Neither Caliban nor Prospero forgives the other's past wrongs, and this keeps their relationship at a complete standstill.

Many researches in the field of medicine confirm the fact that people who do not know how to forgive are much more likely to face diseases that are provoked by stress. The reason for this is that the human brain sends signals to the endocrine system to produce an additional dose of “stress hormones” - cortisol and adrenaline. Because of this, blood pressure rises and additional muscle tension occurs. A person often has back pain. Also, such phenomena are accompanied by an accelerated heartbeat and a significant weakening of the immune system. Naturally, the more offense, the harder it is to deal with it. Many people do not even have the desire to forgive the offender. So, the vengeance can also have a negative impact on both mental and physical health

Forgiving is a talent. Resentment, anger, hatred - vengeance - cause a lot of misfortunes to the one who made the mistake and the one who can't forgive. People tend to make mistakes and do wrong because of inexperience or stupidity, so you should at least try not to remember the unpleasant cases. One of my favorite writers, a fighter for women’s rights in the early 20th century, Eliza Orzeszkowa said “Only powerful ones know how to forgive” in her book Dobra Pani and I do agree with her. Forgiveness is not accepting or condoning a particular behavior. Forgiveness is more for your benefit than it is the person who has wronged you, but both of you will struggle if there is still vengeance. Forgiveness is making the internal decision not to allow what the person has done — to continue having a negative effect on mental and emotional health. Vengeance can wreak havoc on our personal relationships, in worst cases it can even lead to divorce, isolation, broken families, and destroyed friendships. No one can benefit from vengeance, however forgiveness is a sign of strength — which is why so many struggle to fully embrace it.       

Works cited

1. Brady, R. (2010). The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why. Crown Publishing Group.
2. Forgiveness Research. (n.d.). International Forgiveness Institute. Retrieved from https://www.internationalforgiveness.com/research/
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5. Mills, C. (2019). Why Holding a Grudge Is Bad for Your Health. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201901/why-holding-grudge-is-bad-your-health
6. Orzeszkowa, E. (2014). Dobra Pani. Wydawnictwo MG.
7. Shakespeare, W. (2015). The Tempest. Simon & Schuster.
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