Letter
Fear and Wrongdoing
Mother was a true thinker and always challenged the status quo. I had been musing on awful events in the world and what was behind them. She thought for a moment and then responded with one word. “Fear”.
This struck a chord for me. Since then her insight has proven true. Fear is what makes good people do bad things. Knowing this often helps me focus not on the manifestation but the context of unacceptable behavior. As the Tao tells us, “Ever desireless, one can see the mystery, ever desiring, one sees the manifestations”. Our reaction to wrongdoing comes from both the perpetrator and ourselves. Hence the Christian doctrine of forgiveness.
— Bryn Watkins from York WA