Times are such that there are many who would gladly delve into spite. It should not be this way. Blame should be accepted by the responsible party. If the rules were broken then proper actions for correcting that will be taken. There should be no hard feelings or sense of betrayal when such a thing comes to pass. The consequences are as they should be. All anyone can do is apologize for a lack of foresight…a lack of good judgement since those are the causes of most mistakes. “I should have known better than that.” But then, hindsight is usually a much clearer view of things.
All anyone can hope for is that when a final tally is done, the actions over the years are honestly weighed against any moments of duress, stress, or frustration…that the true feelings and intents are found through the overall picture and not through a momentary slideshow of life’s moments that seem overwhelming and chaotic.
Such is human folly. We all have vice, we all have weakness. That is a part of life. Anyone truly living is growing and learning every day. Anyone who thinks they’ve come as far as they can has merely fooled themselves. It is the strive to make the imperfect a reflection of the perfect that drives us. An unobtainable goal that keeps us going through all else. It is a testament to the will of mankind. It is this which let’s us overcome amazing odds as victors.
Far too often, however, people feel slighted for having been in some way punished for a failing. Spite and bitterness rear their ugly heads and lead the person into a foolish course of action that do nothing but cause harm. It solves nothing nor does it make the situation any better. When has revenge or striking back ever really done good overall? I believe I can safely say that it has never ended in a good way. It is a waste of effort.
Rather than look for the spiteful response, mankind should look for the path of improvement. We should all look for what weakness lies within us and strive to master it and make it our greatest strength. By doing so, we rise to a better level of understanding and wisdom. We make ourselves better living organisms. And we eventually will turn old strengths into weaknesses only by comparing them to our new strengths. This will allow us to make the old strengths even stronger when they become our weakest virtue.
This cycle of self-improvement can only begin once responsibility is accepted. Until a person has matured enough to admit fault, the path cannot be found. One cannot seriously make a journey while harboring hubris or a belief that mistakes are the fault of another. This stumbling block is quite probably the most difficult to overcome. The first step usually is, though. Realizing that all of the Human Race suffers from vice and folly and weakness can make this a little easier to accept. Nobody likes to be alone on that side of the line. While none of us ever really are, it can feel that way from time to time.
One cannot get stronger until one admits weakness. One cannot find enlightenment until one admits foolishness. One cannot find inner peace until one admits to inner turmoil. One cannot accept blame until one finds responsibility. One cannot be self-aware until one matures. These are, in a way, truths of existence. Some are bitter pills to swallow. All are doors that lead to a path of betterment.