Bridging the great divide

    Hatred is the echo of a great emptiness, one that hides within the dark caverns of the human heart. Animals do not hate. They fight only to survive. Hatred is an expressly human quality, born of weakness and fear and the need to blame others for our own failings.
    Hatred is the ultimate capitulation. It is an admission of defeat, a confession that one lacks the strength to rise above blind anger. Hatred burns like an ember that will grow into a fire of aggression and revenge. Compassion heals the wounds left by others. Hatred will only tear the sutures.
    The opposite of hatred isn’t love. It’s pity. Those who seek to hurt others know only deep pain and loneliness inside. A heart filled with love reaches down to lift up. A heart filled with pain drags others into its own despair. Do not hate such a heart in return. Pity it. It masks a profound sadness than no deed or action against it could ever deepen.
    Hatred flails like a child in a perpetual tantrum, unable to grasp the acceptable boundaries of behavior. It only knows that it needs, be it love or attention or security from a world in which it knows no place. It often finds solace with others who share a similar weakness, seeking the protection of numbers to hide from the fear of being all alone.
    Hatred seeks vengeance against all slights, perceived or otherwise. In the heart of the weak, everything is magnified. Hatred is always tethered to deep insecurity. A strong heart laughs away insults. A weak heart is punctured by them. A strong heart faces the storm. A weak heart hides from it.
    Hatred tries to impose its will on others. It uses coercion, intimidation and terror to achieve what rational thought cannot. Hatred will not accept other viewpoints. It cannot conceive that others may see the world differently. It is the polarization of one’s own soul. It simplifies the world, dividing it into black and white, right and wrong, us vs. them. There is no compromise. There is no compassion. Hatred has to be proven right. Hatred has to win. Hatred can accept nothing less. It’s all or nothing because hatred is all or nothing.
    Anger is not hatred. Good cannot spring from hatred, but anger can motivate a person to right a wrong, to fight against injustice, to stand up for those who cannot fight for themselves. Anger can challenge corruption and deceit and tyranny. It can be a powerful tool if targeted properly. Anger pointed inward can inspire nobility. Anger pointed outward can only breed hatred. There is nothing noble in that.
    This is the great divide. Some will embrace revenge against those who have trespassed against them. Some will continue an endless circle of retaliation. Some will seek others to blame for the emptiness that echoes through the dark caverns of their hearts.
    Others will seek a new path, paved with pity, compassion and forgiveness. They will discover true strength. They will reach out to those who have wounded them and they will know for the first time in their lives that it’s the only way to truly win.