The Afterglow of Injury

I have suffered, but this does not mean I must inflict suffering on others.
My heart is heavy, but this does not mean I must spread that heaviness around.
Someone has hurt me, but this does not mean I must hurt someone in return.
I have been wounded and bloodied by wrongs done to me, but this does not mean I must deliberately strike back and draw blood in retaliation.
Because there is no peace in my own home does not mean the peace in another's home must become unbearable to me.
I and the self within me—we two together will struggle to heal all our pain, and we will do it without harming another soul. This is what it means to heal oneself.
It is an endless journey, and on this path, one must walk alongside oneself alone.
To harbor the mind that an innocent person must be hurt simply because one was wrongly condemned—such a soul died long ago.
Revenge means punishing the one who committed the wrong; being wronged does not grant me the right to do wrong to someone else. It is far better to forget, if one can; far better still to forgive. In forgetting and forgiving, time is saved, greater peace is found, and the spirit grows stronger.
To walk through darkness, one needs a pure soul—and that pure soul demands devoted, meticulous care.