Shining love in the presence of hatred

[Steppingfeet]

Below is an open and defiant letter to ISIS from a Parisian man who lost his wife in the recent attacks. It left me in tears.

If I imagine myself in his shoes, it would be the greatest challenge of my life not to return hatred for the senseless killing, especially when the hatred removed that which was most dear to you. I’m not sure that I would succeed. A large part of me would want to return the pain, tenfold.

But with tears I recognize his letter below as the greater way, way of Truth - however difficult that road may be to walk.

I bow before his courage and strength. And pray for all those who suffer in this and similar acts of senseless violence.


(translation)

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YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY HATRED

Friday night, you took an exceptional life -- the love of my life, the mother of my son -- but you will not have my hatred. I don't know who you are and I don't want to know, you are dead souls. If this God, for whom you kill blindly, made us in his image, every bullet in the body of my wife would have been one more wound in his heart.

So, no, I will not grant you the gift of my hatred. You're asking for it, but responding to hatred with anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You lost.

I saw her this morning. Finally, after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago. Of course I am devastated by this pain, I give you this little victory, but the pain will be short-lived. I know that she will be with us every day and that we will find ourselves again in this paradise of free love to which you have no access.

We are just two, my son and me, but we are stronger than all the armies in the world. I don't have any more time to devote to you, I have to join Melvil who is waking up from his nap. He is barely 17-months-old. He will eat his meals as usual, and then we are going to play as usual, and for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either.
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*This letter was posted to his Facebook account here. I watched the number of shares go from 115,000 to 124,000 in less than an hour.

*This OP is not a focus on the Paris attacks specifically, but about returning love for hatred. Threads examining the Paris attack itself outside of the scope of this OP can be made in Spiritual Implications forum, or, to the extent it is related, in Plenum's "rumors of war" thread.

[Jade]

Thank you for sharing, Gary. I saw this story shared by a survivor and it brought me to tears. Her name is Isobel Bowdery, and the post had over 3 million likes on facebook, but her page has been deleted (apparently due to impersonations). She was at the Eagles of Death Metal show at Bataclan where one of the massacres occurred in Paris.

It was just a Friday night at a rock show. the atmosphere was so happy and everyone was dancing and smiling. and then when the men came through the front entrance and began the shooting, we naively believed it was all part of the show. It wasn't just a terrorist attack, it was a massacre.

Dozens of people were shot right in front of me. Pools of blood filled the floor. Cries of grown men who held their girlfriends dead bodies pierced the small music venue. Futures demolished, families heartbroken. in an instant. Shocked and alone, I pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying among people who could see their loved ones motionless.. Holding my breath, trying to not move, not cry - not giving those men the fear they longed to see. I was incredibly lucky to survive. But so many didn't.

The people who had been there for the exact same reasons as I - to have a fun Friday night were innocent. This world is cruel. And acts like this are suppose to highlight the depravity of humans and the images of those men circling us like vultures will haunt me for the rest of my life. The way they meticulously aimed at shot people around the standing area i was in the centre of without any consideration for human life. It didn't feel real. I expected any moment for someone to say it was just a nightmare.

But being a survivor of this horror lets me able to shed light on the heroes.

To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to try and cover my brain whilst I whimpered, to the couple whose last words of love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeeded in rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes I truly believed the boy i loved was dead.

To the injured man who i had mistaken for him and then on my recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her doors to the survivors.

To the friend who offered me shelter and went out to buy new clothes so I wouldn't have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you who have sent caring messages of support - you make me believe this world has the potential to be better. To never let this happen again. But most of all to the 80 people who were murdered inside that venue, who weren't as lucky, who didn't get to wake up today to all the pain that their friends and families are going through. I am so sorry. There's nothing that will fix the pain. I feel privileged to be there for their last breaths. And truly believing that I would join them, I promise that their last thoughts were not on the animals who caused all this. It was thinking of the people they loved.

As i lay down in the blood of strangers and waiting for my bullet to end my mere 22 years, I envisioned every face that I have ever loved and whispered I love you, over and over again. reflecting on the highlights of my life. Wishing that those i love knew just how much, wishing that they knew that no matter what happened to me, to keep believing in the good in people. to not let those men win.

Last night, the lives of many were forever changed and it is up to us to be better people. To live lives that the innocent victims of this tragedy dreamt about but sadly will now never be able to fulfil. RIP angels. You will never be forgotten.

[Diana]

I saw James Van Praagh right after 911. He led the audience in prayers of forgiveness for the pilots of the planes. (This is not regarding any questions about who orchestrated the whole event.) It was very powerful.

He told us one of the pilots had come to him (as a deceased being) and on his knees, was pleading for forgiveness and overcome with remorse.

That's how we don't hate. We see the perpetrators as beings with their own feelings, histories, reasons, pain, etc.

[Shemaya]

Thank you for sharing, Gary, Jade and Diana.  Spirit triumphs over hatred and violence every time, nothing can stop the power of love within us.

[Minyatur]

With all the love and prayers being sent to the victims, I prayed and sent love for the healing of the terrorists' souls.

I tend to see acts such as these as a holographic reflection of the state of their soul, they are sad beings.

[Steppingfeet]

I saw this story shared by a survivor and it brought me to tears. Her name is Isobel Bowdery, and the post had over 3 million likes on facebook, but her page has been deleted (apparently due to impersonations). She was at the Eagles of Death Metal show at Bataclan where one of the massacres occurred in Paris.

My eyes right now make a better response to this story than my words.

Thank you for posting her story.

[Aion]

All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love, love. All you need is love. ~

[kycahi]

Two ways to go:

1. Work to calm myself down, stop hating perpretator(s) and struggle to begin forgiving.
   
2. Realize that we are One and all are experiencing each other. I am perpretator(s) experiencing that, and I am victims experiencing that, and I am this person learning of the event. Therefore, I don't need to work to forgive the despicable, I just acknowledge that all are serving the One by experiencing all.
   

To a "beginner," the second way is just a concept hard to grasp. After awhile, it comes naturally and peacefully, I promise.