Posted by TerryS (24.24.79.72) on September 15, 2000 at 14:34:00:
THE BEST REVENGE
As the story goes, a group of occupational soldiers hired a local
boy to run errands for them. The soldiers liked to relieve stress
by playing practical jokes on the young boy. They would hide his
belongings, put gum in his shoes, or send him on silly errands.
The boy handled the joking quite well. He never seemed upset by
it. After a while, the soldiers decided that they had bothered
the child enough. They approached him to apologize and to tell
him that they would no longer play any jokes on him.
The boy replied in stilted English, "You stop making joke on me,
I stop spitting in your soup."
He had his revenge. But for most of us, revenge turns out to be
more bitter than sweet. It "has no more quenching effect on
emotions than salt water has on thirst," one writer says. And
it's true. The desire to inflict hurt and pain remains long after
one has given in to the urge to get even. Bitter emotions are
more often quenched by love and understanding than by fighting
back.
Over 400 years ago, the English poet George Herbert said, "Living
well is the best revenge." Good advice -- especially when tempted
to get even.