When someone mistreats me, I get mad, naturally.  The important decision comes later.  I can choose to relive that wrong in my mind, and until I forgive the other person, that’s what I tend to do whenever I have to deal with him again.  My anger comes back and I am likely to say or do something that makes the situation worse.  Anger and hate get us stuck in the past.  When I forgive the other person, I free my mind of the anger and that frees my mind to find ways to make things better for...

Getting even doesn’t work.  The person who receives a blow always thinks it is harder than the one he gave out.  There are only two ways that a cycle of revenge ends.  One is death; the other is for someone to show enough strength to absorb the last blow without responding in kind.  Fighting tends to escalate: the longer a fight lasts, the more pain is inflicted on both sides.  The best time to stop a fight is to refuse to strike back after the first blow.