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“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~ Rumi

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There was a time in my life when I stood at a crossroads and when hurt threatened to harden my heart.

Yet, deep inside me, a softer voice always spoke louder:

Love is the only way.

I’ve been hurt, left out, bullied, and dismissed. I’ve been cut down by sharp words and by silence, and I’ve had my share of anger, grief, and nights that I couldn’t stop replaying what happened.

Despite those challenges, I have always known that revenge rots the soul and I have consciously chosen to never live there.

Instead of taking on the exhausting energy of holding grudges, seething, and payback, I am willing to do the slow inner work of moving through a whole range of shadow and light feelings toward transformational healing.

I might pound my pillow, write in my journal, cry, scream, console my inner child, take a walk on the ocean shore at low tide, watch a sunset, take naps, share my heartache with a friend, help someone in need, compose song lyrics, or reach out to a therapist.

Step by step, I invite time and space to work their quiet magic until something shifts and my heart opens again.

Eventually, through my invisible approach of positive thought transference, deep meditation, and sound healing, I will even feel strong enough to send the wounded child within the person that hurt me an energy field of love, healing, and light.

Revenge is love’s opposite. It’s poison to the soul.

Revenge shrinks us down to the size of our wounds, hardens our hearts, and locks us away from giving and receiving love.

In the Un-United States of America, the energy of revenge can be felt in the metallic heaviness of the air.

It’s in the jaw of a leader who vows to punish, in the silence of those who are complicit, and in the roar of crowds chanting for someone to be crushed. Every day, we see cruelty rewarded and we’re told that this is what strength looks like.

But this is not what real strength looks like. Real power—the kind that heals—doesn’t come from payback. It comes from love.

The healing power of love speaks a completely different language than revenge:

>> I won’t become what broke me.

>> I won’t be vengeful in return.

>> I’ll keep my heart open, even when it hurts.

These days, this kind of centered and conscious love requires a special kind of strength and courage. Yet, I find it easy. For me, there is only one choice. I will never answer darkness with more darkness, and I will always choose to be the love I envision for the world.

If you are a love activist too, here are its rewards:

Revenge keeps us living in reaction.
Love keeps us living in creation.

Revenge feeds a bottomless pit of wounds.
Love feeds the future.

Revenge makes us hard and cold.
Love makes us whole and free.

A poetic plea dedicated to all those who seek revenge:

A Case for Love Over Revenge 

When the weight in your chest feels like stone,
breathe deeply until it softens.

When your fists curl tight,
loosen them.

Remind yourself that your worth
has nothing to do with someone else’s ruin.

Let the fever of anger run its course
until the heat burns out.

Trade your hunger for punishment

to a hunger for inner peace and peace in the world.

Whisper to yourself: I was not born for the darkness of revenge.

Shift to the healing power of love

and visualize putting down the crown of vengeance you’ve been tempted to wear.

Think about all the people who will walk this earth long after you are gone

and shift from revenge to the grace that is possible in your heart.

Love notes for my precious readers—a call to action:

Ask yourself: When am I tempted to choose revenge, and when am I still willing to choose love?

Share my messages with someone with whom you have differences. Not to win arguments, but to plant seeds—because sometimes even one seed of love is enough to crack the hardest ground.

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” ~ Rumi

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