Finally....
a chance to write something! If you've read my book, you'd know that my life changed drastically after reading M. Scott Peck's book: The Road Less Traveled. Because Peck made such an enormous impact on my way of thinking, I decided to read other books by him; one of them was: People of The Lie.
Basically, this book is about human evil...what it is, how to identify it, and his hopes for healing it. Peck's definition of evil is something that I've never forgotten. Evil spelled backwards is "live" and he defines evil as that which opposes the life force. Specifically, evil has to do with murder...killing that is not required for biological survival.
But peck does not restrict the meaning/definition to physical killing. He states that evil is also that which kills the spirit as there are many significant attributes of life... awareness, mobility, growth, autonomy, will, etc. To kill life (evil) is further broadened to include the desire to control others, to foster dependency, to discourage the capacity of others to think for themselves, to diminish originality, to attempt to keep others in line. All of this is considered the destruction of spirit...in short “evil”.
So, according to Peck, “evil is that force residing either inside or outside of human beings that seek to kill life or liveliness. And goodness is its opposite. Goodness is that which promotes life and happiness”.
With that in mind, I am more and more aware of keeping my attitude in check....especially with loved ones. While I understand that everyone is responsible for their own actions and their reactions to others, I am also aware of my responsibility to ensure that my words and actions are not such that I am stealing or killing someone’s spirit or joy.