Revenge

"A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green." Francis Bacon

What a quote. So astute but yet so obvious. This my friends, is the true art of language. Francis Bacon found a way to sound smart, yet to appeal to the common folk and bank on a generality that not many people would make. If you didn't know, there is a show currently airing on ABC called Revenge. The show is about a girl whose father was framed for something he did not do, and subsequently was taken away, tried, and convicted on false accusations. The girl was sent away and institutionalized until she became eighteen years old when she was released as an adult. She never saw her father again since the night he was taken away, making her all the angrier. When she gets out of the institution her father has died and a man, who her father knew, is there to meet her and gives her the possessions he left, where she finds a letter explaining what happened and why he was taken away. Realizing that he was framed she seeks out the people mentioned in the letter in order to ruin their lives like they ruined hers and her fathers.
I happen to be a fan of this show, but in reality is it justifiable to take the law into one's own hands in order to seek revenge for a terrible wrong done to you and your family?

Well...according to our Law, it is not, but I believe according to man's law it is justifiable. Her father died in prison, and she was institutionalized for something he did not do. The Justice System obviously failed her once, so I don't blame her for having little faith in it. Not only this, but instead of killing she rather decides to ruin their lives literally, rather than taking their lives from them. She is not a fan of killing, but an advocate for social humiliation, which is what her plots always seem to lead to in the end. A pure genius move.

The quote above applies 100% to this TV Show. In synopsis, the quote says that if a person keeps thinking about revenge, then they will continue to feel the pain and long to seek that revenge. This is evident in the TV Show as the main character, Emily Thorne (aKa Amanda Clarke), continues to relive her father's trial, a much publicized event, in order to better understand the responsibility each victim had in the grand scheme of things. She definitely keeps her wounds green, on purpose so that she never forgets what these people have done to her and her real purpose for taking them down.

 Now, the question is how is this applicable to real life? Well...I believe we can construe this quote in such a way so that it deals with motivation. You may ask, how in the world can he possibly believe that this quote can bend in some way to motivate? Well...life is competitive...and sometimes you will lose. Is it groundbreaking? Yes, people don't like to be told they can lose, but it's a real possibility. Whether it is in sports, academics, jobs, there's a high probability everyone will lose at some time in their lives. So what to do when you lose? Pick yourself up and dust your shoulders off. Remember who that person was that beat you and work harder, longer, and be stronger than they do so that you can keep the wounds of loss green and motivate yourself to beat them the next time around. This is why I love this quote so much. It has so many different connotations. It can apply to a TV Show all about getting revenge because of the mistreatment of one's father, or it fits the use for motivation when you lose and fall down. Just remember to get up and keep your wounds of loss green, so that you will push yourself to work harder than you ever have and overcome the previous loss.