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<P><BR><BR></P>Gabrielle, </DIV>I've had these same thoughts as Gary. I am responsible for my decisions and actions. The choices i'm making this very moment are crucial to any thing that passes along my path (good or bad). I will remain strong and choose compassion over revenge. This is very hard for me and to those that have lost loved ones...it will be harder for them to do so also. </DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>I've never felt more connected to people than I have during this time. I feel like i have transcended to a higher realm as I am cultivating peace in my heart and reaching out to total strangers. It is and will be the hardest lesson that I will ever learn.
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<DIV></DIV>I hope you find your family, Gabrielle. My thoughts are with you.
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<DIV></DIV>Rae,future/present pilgram
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<DIV></DIV>>From: Gabrielle Milanich <ESHLINGaAOL.COM>
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<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
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<DIV></DIV>>To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
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<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Fwd.: Compassion and Revenge.
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<DIV></DIV>>Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 13:28:14 EDT
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<DIV></DIV>>Dear Peregrinas/os:
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<DIV></DIV>>This morning, I received this message from noted author Gary Zukav. It
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<DIV></DIV>>offered me a bit of solace and it is in that light that I send it on to you.
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<DIV></DIV>>He may hold some beleifs that don't exactly coincide with your own, but maybe
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<DIV></DIV>>it can stand as another possibility. If I have offended anyone by introducing
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<DIV></DIV>>these thoughts, I am deeply sorry.
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<DIV></DIV>>My family still has not received word. I continue to hope for the best.
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<DIV></DIV>>Much love,
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<DIV></DIV>>Gabrielle
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<DIV></DIV>>Gary's e-mail to me:
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<DIV></DIV>>"Dear Gabrielle,
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<DIV></DIV>>The terror in New York and Washington forces you to choose
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<DIV></DIV>>your reaction consciously or unconsciously. The violence that
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<DIV></DIV>>we saw today was the consequence of unconscious choices --
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<DIV></DIV>>choices driven by pain, fear, and desperation. Who among us
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<DIV></DIV>>has not experienced pain, fear and desperation? Who among us
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<DIV></DIV>>will not experience them in the future? The question of
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<DIV></DIV>>whether they will determine your responses to the
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<DIV></DIV>>circumstances of your life, no matter how painful, is
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<DIV></DIV>>critical, because your future depends upon it.
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<DIV></DIV>>I hope that these thoughts will be helpful to you.
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<DIV></DIV>>Love,
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<DIV></DIV>>Gary
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<DIV></DIV>>**********************
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<DIV></DIV>>COMPASSION AND REVENGE
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<DIV></DIV>>The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are
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<DIV></DIV>>occasions of great significance. They are opportunities for
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<DIV></DIV>>you to feel inside, to find those parts of yourself that are
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<DIV></DIV>>in fear, and to make the decision to move forward in your life
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<DIV></DIV>>without fear. That is the challenge for each individual on
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<DIV></DIV>>this planet today. The pursuit of external power – the ability
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<DIV></DIV>>to manipulate and control – creates only violence and
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<DIV></DIV>>destruction. The painful events in New York and Washington are
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<DIV></DIV>>living examples of that reality.
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<DIV></DIV>>The causal chain that created this violence is one in which
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<DIV></DIV>>compassion and wisdom are absent. Are wisdom and compassion
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<DIV></DIV>>present in you as you watch the television, and read the
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<DIV></DIV>>papers? It is important to realize that you do not know all
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<DIV></DIV>>that came to conclusion, or into karmic balance, as a result
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<DIV></DIV>>of these events. Because you are not able to know all that can
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<DIV></DIV>>be known about them, you are not in a position to judge them.
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<DIV></DIV>>When you are able to look at the events of the Earth School
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<DIV></DIV>>from this perspective, you will see clearly the central
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<DIV></DIV>>importance of the role that you play in it. That role is this:
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<DIV></DIV>>It is for you to decide what you will contribute to this world.
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<DIV></DIV>>Many will be asking your opinion of these events. Each question
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<DIV></DIV>>is an opportunity for you to contribute to the love that is in
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<DIV></DIV>>the world or to the fear that is in the world. This is the same
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<DIV></DIV>>opportunity that presents itself to you at each moment.
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<DIV></DIV>>If you hate those who hate, you become like them. You add to the
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<DIV></DIV>>violence and the destructive energy that now fills our world. As
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<DIV></DIV>>you make the decision to see with clarity and compassion, you
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<DIV></DIV>>will see that those who committed these acts of violence were in
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<DIV></DIV>>extreme pain themselves, and that they were fueled by the
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<DIV></DIV>>violent parts of ourselves – the parts that judge without mercy,
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<DIV></DIV>>strike in anger, and rejoice in the suffering of others. They
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<DIV></DIV>>were our proxy representatives. If you can look with compassion
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<DIV></DIV>>upon those who have suffered and those who have committed acts
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<DIV></DIV>>of cruelty alike, then you will see that all are suffering. The
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<DIV></DIV>>remedy for suffering is not to inflict more suffering.
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<DIV></DIV>>This is an opportunity for a massive expression of compassion.
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<DIV></DIV>>It is also an opportunity for a massive expression of revenge.
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<DIV></DIV>>Which world do you intend to live in -- a world of revenge or a
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<DIV></DIV>>world of compassion?
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