A Vindictive Nature

[Arcanum Owl]

Is vindictiveness a good or bad trait?
I've asked myself this question recently as I quite simply believe I almost went beyond the point of no return.

In the past I've had a couple of situations where I reacted in such a way that I considered fair and just deserved. After one such case a person upon hearing about my reaction referred to me as "vindictive little bugger". Now I didn't really see this as a bad thing, but rather saw it that I was actively doing something rather then playing nice, sitting in the corner and keeping the peace. I never went overboard with anything and always played within the limits of the three fold rule, and generally used this a authoritative figure.

However, I recently was personally involved in a situation where I simply ignored all constraints and basically common sense, and almost did something which I would probably have regretted later. It involved someone doing something rather underhanded to my family and the business they ran. Warping the law, and also being an underhanded "snake" about the whole thing. Needless to say I lost my cool and I almost was prepared to attempt to not just end his existence but all those that he holds dear by any means necessary. It was only White Harmony who calmed me down preventing me from basically shouting to the universe for all I was worth.

Upon reflection it's not a very nice picture. Looking back at myself I can not in anyway describe myself in any good light. I can only see myself at the time as a hate filled little daemon who cared not one wit about karma, justice and only about retribution. It's rather disquieting when you realise this about yourself, you can kid yourself as much as you want that you are always developing your spirituality and you turn around and see exactly the same things you find most reprehensible in world, you see in yourself.

Thanks for listening.

[Hytegia]

Humans are Vindictive... So, in essence, you are running about average.

Don't worry. To err is human. To err again is Foolish, but is also human. To err a third time is stupidity, but is also human.
he fact you are vindictive is not a problem, but it's the fact you let it overpower you, and you almost go and make a terrible mistake, is the error. We all make mistakes, some big and some small. But the true power of humanity is the idea that we can learn from these mistakes, and then do better the next time!

I have much distaste for the saying:
Those who don't learn from their past are doomed to repeat it.
If all of humanity would LEARN from their mistakes, then we'd have no problem... But the fact is that the majority of humanity fails to recognize their mistakes and therefore is doomed to make the same mistakes. We can just know when to get out of the way when the world starts sucking, and then ride the wheel instead of being caught under it...

The moral of this lesson? Don't be an idiot, loathing your past! Learn from it. Don't be sad because you are human, but smile that you know that you can control yourself next time, and that he's going to get his... That's why the Law of Three is there in the first place. The Universe will balance itself out.

[runewulf]

Ami, the question really should be this... "was it really vindictive or was it justice/honor driving you?"... if the later, no worries, if the former, well it may be time to look inside and see if it's something you want/need to change about yourself. We can all be vindictive when pushed the right way and when it involves loved ones, it's much easier to be vindictive or even just protective/over-protective. There's nothing wrong with that either, if we don't protect those we care about when we can, then what's the point in caring? Of course, I do have a dominant personality and was told repeatedly when I was young that I had definite aggressive tendencies, so go figure

Seriously, as long as you're being true to yourself and your inner voice isn't telling you it's wrong, you're probably not too far off track, if at all.

Wassail

[Max]

Well, in a nutshell, vindictiveness is not nice. Sometimes you have to forgive people for their faults too. Like Runewulf said, be true to yourself, but I would add don't reciprocate negativity, it's just not useful.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

Ah my dear, you are a good person. We all descend into shadow. You are not a bad person. It is wonderful that you had enough awareness to allow that side of you to emerge. It is a perfect time to heal it, now that it has surfaced just a short time ago.

[Kitsune]

Personally, I have always followed the "Forgive, but never forget" way of looking at it. This tends to make people think of me as vindictive, but I think of it as being aware of the fallacies of human behavior.

I think that so long as you don't let it overrun your common sense, you're doing well. When it does, it's important to note it and make amends, in spirit if not in person.