I'm afraid I used up all my genius on the discussion blog, so here's what's left over. :)
Dear Charlie,
You are one amazingly perceptive young man! I'm glad that you could end the cycle of hate and blame-- at least on your part. Hating someone just gives them power over you and your future, and I wouldn't want anything to mar the bright future a young man like you has in front of them.
It's right to still love your Aunt Helen for giving you two presents. She wasn't necessarily a bad person. She was probably just very confused and messed up in herself. Even though she hurt you, she probably loved you very much. Sometimes people don't understand the things they do.
My own step-father did many bad things to me when I was a little girl. In his own way he loved me, and I don't hate him. Hating him would be a waste of my time and just prolong the "cycle". Plus, I'm thankful to him too. In the same way that you're thankful to your Aunt Helen for saying she loved you and buying you two presents. He taught me how to fish, how to ride a bike, and made me into a kick-ass Rummy player.
Sometimes people can't help how messed up they are.
But me and you, Charlie, we're going places. You can't let the past weigh you down. I know you won't, and neither will I.
Have a great life.
Love always,
A Friend.
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Wow.
ReplyDeleteMy web browser just deleted the hugegiganticlong comment that I was finishing. Let's see what I can remember.
. . . tread carefully . . . reading letters to other people . . . literary voyeurism . . . whoops, I sure stepped in it . . .
Okay, not much of substance is coming to me. Maybe taking my headphones off would help . . .
In short, I agree that hate is itself hateful, and should not be perpetuated. We ought to believe Virgil that amor vincit omnia.
Or, if I may play a very misplaced Devil's advocate, perhaps the reason that we should not perpetuate the sins of our forefathers is that we need to discover vices of our own?
Nah. I'll go with the first one.
It takes a very mature person to forgive someone who has abused you in such a terrible way. I imagine Charlie felt very betrayed by his aunt, but it's telling of his progress towards adulthood that he was able to let it go, despite the awful shock he slipped into after his dream. He really is a special kid.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how his emotions were twisted. Well, I can a little, he was in a coma for a week because of his experiences' sudden return. He's just so fragile! Could it be that all the counseling he received (Not to mention being the youngest child) stopped him from building the emotional fortitude that others have? Or maybe because of the personal losses he's endured, people simply give him more room to act in such a way. Nobody seems to tell him to stop crying, save for Sam.