ARE YOU MY FRIEND OR ENEMY?
In our journey of life, we do come across many people whom we will later address as friends. Are these our true friends or simply friends in disguise? Sometimes, it is rather hard for us to identify properly who they are anymore. One thing very obvious is that we should not be afraid of enemies who will attack us upfront but those who flatter us all the time. No one in this world is free from opposition. Even the great philosophers and religious leaders are not exempted. On top of every good principles and values, there ought to be someone out there who will oppose them. Great people never give up on holding on to their principles even though they have to sacrifice themselves for the better of others.
The worst enemy for us is the anger we have within us. Anger will not bury anger but create the worst out of us. Human minds are like gases. When there is fire, it will burn instantly or even explode. We have to be aware that there is a switch to turn off the gas. If we do not know how, it will burn forever until there is no longer any gas left. How long do you think a gas tank will last? What about those with centralized gas systems? It will take a very long time right? In the process, this will harm our health. It will also kill us unknowingly. The same principle applies on us. Anger will kill us! In fact, isn’t that what your opponent want of you?
At times, your opponent might even possess certain good qualities which you can learn from, some even better than your associates. By learning and understanding the flaws in ourselves will make us even wiser in avoiding such future confrontations. Confronting war with war is idiotic. It will never end. There will never be a winner too. Victory breeds hatred. The vanquished live in pain.
Good people will have opponents too as there tend to be natural conflicts between good and bad, pure and evil, black or white, or whichever you call them. By returning evil to evil, you will end up evil yourself. Being a cultured person, treating your opponents with love and understanding would be the solution. It may sound illogical and nonsensical but it works most of the time.
Disputes and disagreements happen frequently amongst our friends. In order to maintain the friendship, admit and apologize when we realized we were wrong. Open up and have a heart to heart talk to settle any misunderstandings. Treat jealousy with love and hope that by doing so, your opponent will someday have a clearer mind to see your true intentions.
I must admit that no one is perfect in life, not even me. There are many times in my life that friendship ended due to the simplest stupidity between two parties. When either party had a clearer mind years later to realize the stupidity, it did bring the relationship back and this time even closer. This has indeed proven that different people have different speed of acceptance on any good principles and values in life as age matures. As time changes, people changed for the better or worst. It is up to us to decide which side we would like to step in.
I'm thirsty for a drink now. Would you be kind enough to treat me?
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