In the past couple of weeks, I have started on an incredible journey with a man who still fascinates me with how absolutely emotional he is when it comes to SL. Please do not get me wrong...I do not mean that in a bad way at all. I just love how he feels and cares for everyone around him and how hard he strives and works to make sure that his SL friends and family are ok and taken care of. When they hurt - he hurts. When they are happy - he rejoices. And when they cry - he cries with them. There should definitely be more like you Drac....you make SL such a beautiful place. As we have started to learn each others past and where we have been, this wonderful man made such a profound comment..one that has haunted me for days. He said "The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference." "If you allow hate, then they still have power." WOW! Many of you have seen me wear a necklace around my neck with three crucifixes on it. Each crucifix has represented someone who has hurt me very deeply in SL. I have worn it as a reminder to the pain that they have caused and i guess as a way to protect me from any more hurt. But with those words, I realized that with this constant reminder literally around my neck, I continued to carry the weight of the pain and in some circumstances the hate that I felt towards these 3 people. And I still gave them power over me. I was literally confused by exactly what to do, I know that grudges are best forgotten and I have striven to not have anything to do with these three people, however...indifference? So I did some research.
I found two very poignant quotes by Elie Weisel, holocaust survivor and noble prize winner;
For one who is indifferent, life itself is a prison. Any sense of community is external or, even worse, nonexistent. Thus, indifference means solitude. Those who are indifferent do not see others. They feel nothing for others and are unconcerned with what might happen to them. They are surrounded by a great emptiness. Filled by it, in fact. They are devoid of all hope as well as imagination. In other words, devoid of any futureThe opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifferenceThese made me realize that hate / dislike is an emotion and must be felt. Indifference is the total lack of emotion and without it your life is truly a void. I know that Drac meant well when he said those words to me and he is someone who feels so much emotion,I could never ever imagine him to be indifferent. You can never experience the good without the bad. There could not be the concept of heaven without the concept of hell. I have since, however, removed the necklace from around my neck. I am not striving for indifference, but perhaps possibly towards forgiveness. Only the future can tell.
