Injustice and retribution

Last week, someone did something that effected me negatively, inhibited my progress and made me feel quite annoyed and, if I'm truthful, a little bit hurt. I'm not going to explain the thing, but suffice it to say it wasn't a small or insignificant thing and that it has worked to my immense detriment to a degree that will take some time to recover from; It felt like a huge injustice.

I'll recover, I know that much, but it wasn't a nice experience and the more I thought about it the more annoyed I became and that eventually turned to anger...quite a powerful anger.

In the past, I would have reacted incredibly harshly in response; I'm the guy who brings an army tank to a knife fight - I mean I treat harshly with those who deserve it and don't hold back - I figured if people have chosen to cause me (or others) harm they also contemplated the possible consequences and were content to accept them...and so I'd deliver those consequences tenfold and without remorse...and was really good at it. But, of course, times change and as I became older I started to make allowances, choose the battles I waged more carefully, and simply took the high road more often.

I took the high road in the case I mention here, delivered no retribution - despite wanting to - and feel content in that decision. Of course, for that individual, there is no coming back from the actions they chose, literally zero.

There's a lot of injustice in the world and not just on a grand scale like wars and other conflicts; it boils right down to people taking advantage of people and not all of them have the ability to recover from the negative effects or to hold back their retribution which, of course, has implications of its own. I guess what's important is that each time it occurs the person or people who have suffered that injustice look at the situation objectively, weigh and measure it, and then determine a way forward from there rather than rolling up with a fucken army tank and blasting the fuck out of someone like I wanted to do in my recent situation. Of course, there's situations where I'd be totally at peace with unleashing upon someone without mercy, say, if someone harmed my partner for instance; there would be no shred of mercy shown.

I'm content with my decision not to do that in this case though, have made peace with the negative effects of that person's actions and am taking positive steps towards rectification and recovery...even though a small part of me still wants to burn their world down to the ground. I think I made the right decision.

So, I thought I'd ask you about revenge and retribution...and I don't want you to all put on your halos and say how much of a beautiful little angel you are and that you do no wrong, that's unrealistic. I want to know if you've taken revenge on others, if you dare to say so, or if you've wanted to, how that went if you did and what made you not do so and then what followed on from it. I think most, if not all, have exacted revenge of some kind at some stage so if you want weigh in on the discussion and thoughts please go ahead.