Hi, my dear friends!
I thought for a long time whether I should take part in the February contest. It turned out that it was resentment that became one of the main emotions of this year for me.
Words can have multiple meanings. So I turned to the Cambridge Explanatory Dictionary to make it clear which of the meanings of this word I have in mind when I write this post a feeling of anger because you have been forced to accept something that you do not like
A war has been going on in my country for a year now. Resentment is probably exactly the feeling that we face every day. There was no reason for this war other than the sick fantasies of the bunker monkey in the Kremlin. In the first days of the war, this feeling was especially acute. russia put forward absolutely crazy demands and claims to us. Most of all, I was outraged that they demanded that russian be the official language on the territory of our country. What nonsense! Why should I speak in my country in the language of a foreign country! I don't know why, but it was this crazy demand of theirs that angered me the most.
The same emotions were caused by what they said about my country. When I hear all the lies that russian propaganda is spreading, then resentlement is exactly the feeling that I experience.
What I must say is that gradually my attitude changed. Today, all the nonsense of russian propaganda only makes me laugh.
But there are far scarier things that will never be funny. There is something that remains a terrible crime forever and can cause nothing but resentment. The russians came to my country to rob, rape and kill. How should I feel towards them? I saw corpses in the streets, I saw corpses in cars that said "children". So people tried to escape from the war, but they were simply killed. Can we forgive russia for everything they have done? Maybe sometime in decades. And it won't be my generation.
Probably, I could continue to list various facts, and with a high degree of probability you would agree that I have every reason for resentment. But I want to talk about something else.
Resentment considered a toxic emotion, a poisonous feeling which can be a powerful and destructive. It slowly eats away at the person who bears it, as well as the people around that person. The resentment-bearer often feels like they are carrying a heavy burden. They feel hurt, angry, and bitter about an injustice that has been done to them. The resentment-bearer may direct their anger at themselves. It can make us feel like victims and can even negatively affect our physical and mental health.
This is what is commonly said about resentment. But there is one but. In fact, none of our feelings, none of our emotions has a pre-established vector. This is just energy of greater or lesser power, but we choose the vector ourselves.
Feeling emotions is normal! This means that we are alive! What matters is not that you experienced resentment, anger, or even hatred. What matters is what you do with it next. The energy that has been released requires that it be spent. If you ban it inside you, it will tear you apart from the inside and make you run in circles screaming: "How dare they do this to me!"
But if you decide to release your resentment outside, you again have two ways: try to destroy what caused it, or try to improve your world.
Oh yeah! When I talk about such a phenomenon as war, it is infinitely difficult to stay on a positive vector for resentment. But I will try to explain.. Now, being in the rear, I try to realize my resentment at the actions of the enemy by helping my army and I also try to improve the world around me by helping animals, planting flowers and trees. We already have enough destruction, and where you can create a beautiful positive space, you need to do it. Yes, my flowers will not stop ballistic missiles, but they will delight our warriors and our refugees, who can finally relax in a beautiful and positive place.