THE WAYS AND MEANS OF PEACE

THE WAYS AND MEANS OF PEACE ~ 42 ~ The truth is that enmity is not something natural. It is an artificial reaction. Whenever for any reason anyone apparently becomes your enemy, you should remain mild-mannered in your dealings with him and try to behave well, even if you have to do so unilaterally and in the face of provocation. This peaceful response on your part will result in the subsiding of negative feelings in your enemy. Your unilateral good behaviour will serve to awaken his dormant humanity, thus turning him into a new and better human being. The truth is that the same temperament is common to every newborn child, which is why everyone is first Mr. Nature and only later on, becomes either Mr. Enemy or Mr. Friend. This means that the nature you possess is also possessed by your supposed enemy. Therefore, one must seek in an apparent enemy the common man in him, and each individual should expect from others what he expects for himself. The law of nature gives a guarantee that his expectations will not go unfulfilled.