“The best way to destroy an enemy, is to make him a friend.” – Abraham Lincoln

The quote is easier said than done, I know. Just like the biblical “love your enemy,” it is a hard act to follow. By nature, we love our friend only for as long as they love us and support our self-image. What if that friend make a diagnosis that damage your reputation? As you climb the ladder of success in life, not everybody will be happy about your great achievements. As you shine, others are bound to envy you or “use” you. This is a sharp insight of the brittleness of friendship, it can be infiltrated and swallowed by the ego.

As one wise man puts it, “We connot simplistically divide the world between the good and the wicked and make them fight to death.” Both good and bad are present in persons and within each of us. “Patience and time are more effective than force and violence,” wrote Le Fontaine. Never underestimate the power of forgiveness. Forgiving will set you free and enable you to move forward. It’s the one power you always have over the person who hurt you.