IN THE LONG RUN, ALL ENEMIES BECOME FRIENDS










When two longtime bitter-enemies shake hands in friendship,  I find it very, very inspiring. It’s very, very reassuring, too. You can feel the heavy load of bitterness falling off… Just by watching enemies reconcile, we feel a lot lighter and relieved…

To me, that happened just a few days ago, when the heads of South and North Korea came forward to do the impossible: Shake hands, genuinely!

This means, no matter how ‘strong’ and ‘invincible’ you think you are – actually, you are not, till you make peace with your enemy. And, the enemy outside is just the reflection of the enemy inside… The most difficult part is to make peace with the enemy inside!

I was reading in the newspapers, this morning, that American President, Donald Trump was instrumental in striking this peace between South Korea and North Korea. I smiled when some of his ardent admirers were calling for Noble Peace Prize for this effort...

How ironical! A Nobel Peace Prize for the man who is hell-bent in ‘building a wall’ between his own neighbor, Mexico!

Just as the enemy within is the most difficult one to make peace with, the enemy next door, too, is! Most of us are experts in resolving others’ disputes… far away ones. We are bad in resolving our own!

Nevertheless, the fact is, that, after nearly seven decades of bitter enmity, the two Korean brothers – South and North – have stepped forward to make peace with each other. As I said earlier, this gesture is not only very, very inspiring, but it is also very, very reassuring.





In human hearts, the desire to strike peace is stronger than the desire to wage war. That’s why, in the long run, all enemies become friends. Probably, all that our enemy needs – and we need from our enemy -  is the touch of kindness. The Persian poet, Saadi Shirazi, had said it long ago:
“An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend.”


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Internet
Video: YouTube


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