Wrong Enemy
+We all must stop persecuting people for their individuality. +Why it's exhausting fighting the wrong people +And how nothing will move if you don't.
Long time no see! Welcome back to Letters From the Train. We’ve changed some things around here, new logo, new colours, new mission… I’m grateful for all who have followed and even for those who couldn’t. It is all progress and purposeful. I am ecstatic for the discussions to be had in this newsletter for this new year, 2024! We are starting strong and fiery with this piece on the escalation of villainising in our society. The love of many is growing cold, reader, and people are losing their way. But this train is calling people back to the destination of glory, so I do hope you hop on.
Let me know your thoughts, happy reading!!
Me and my best-friend have a shared saying which we pronounce whenever we fall into a state of sadness about the misfortunes we encounter, which we realise are predominantly inflicted by by our fellow humans. After one of us has broke into a rant about the miseries of human disappointment, the other quickly butts in to say “not everyone is us”. In this short phrase we are indirectly telling ourselves that we cannot expect everyone to behave how we do, or think the exact same way. Nor should we initially desire them to do so in order to accommodate our own narrative and way of living. It is a lot to unpack, but what I will tell you for now is that it gives a hopeful ending to every one of our conversations that sought out to go sour and discourage us in our respective paths.
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When me and my friend utter this phrase, it isn’t to say that we are the perfect model which no-one can ever attain or replicate. We are simply confessing that we are individuals, with individual minds and motives and in believing such we have to believe there isn’t another out there like us. And if there aren’t others out there like us, then who are they…? Other individuals with individual minds and motives. Essentially, it stops us from villainizing people who operate in ways unusual to our normal practice, or understanding, of things. It stops us (I hope) from being narcissistic and reducing human interactions massively; in thinking that the hurt inflicted could’ve simply been avoided if the person/people just did what we would do or behaved how we would’ve behaved. Or better yet, said the all the words we nursed over time in our hearts and have been longing to hear. Life just doesn’t operate like that. Because it doesn’t operate around us. Life isn’t a passageway constructed to serve the individual but the collective. And that can hurt. But not as much as having every one of your criterions diminished because you’ve failed to see people as people and not stepping stones to your success story. We are able to reinsert hope to a hopeless situation when we step back and evaluate without blinding emotion. Take people for who they are. And not what they “could’ve been”.
I’m trying a lot to stop fighting people for being people. It’s a hill I’m still climbing, but more and more the sunshine of embrace and tolerance is shining on my face and clearing my mind from the fog of frustration. I know I will get there soon.
It can be hard being a person with pure intentions to find it not being wholly reciprocated. But who am I when God Himself came down and was rejected? In moving closer to the Creator of people, I am understanding people aren’t the problem. Far from it. On the topic of the Divine, one has to remember, He came down in flesh form and still understood that we could never be like Him. He didn’t then say, “Well, I’ve done this life thing, so what is it you people still can’t get?! It wasn’t that hard!”. On the contrary, He empathised, cried, suffered, made friends (12 or so if you can remember) and eventually died. His time on earth was spent not constantly rebuking nor condemning every person who didn’t act like Him or His father in heaven. It was spent instead loving everyone as much as He loved Himself and His father in heaven. So, what kind of wrought God complex are some of us carrying believing that we are the prototype everyone should mimic lest the world be doomed? Yes, we are made in His image but as a testament to His omnipotence, He has managed to make every image look different, yet equally delightful in His eyes.
We must remember people are hurting in different ways. I cannot expect people to clean themselves in the same way I do. For first instance we do not all bath with the same water (in the spiritual and physical sense), so grace is always needed. What ‘wrong enemy’ really means is wrong path; wrong focus; wrong dedication(s). When we think about ‘church hurt’ for instance-a traumatic experience in the church-it is the unfortunately predominant reason as to why people reject God…because of people. We have made an enemy out of God because of people. Our only enemy is satan and he thrives off of separation. He wants you to mask his evil doings with the foul-play of humans, but I urge you to remember who is more like you…humans or satan? I ask, who is more worthy of redemption of all the sins and offences which we imperfect humans blindly consider unforgiveable? I tell you, there is a Man who still holds out His hand most especially to these.
A controversial bit but most of the time, I am fighting you because I am fighting myself. In other words, I can pick a bone with someone because I’ve felt like they needed to stand on my side of the road and see how things look over here. But have I even realized that there is a reason why they are on the side that they are? That it many prove safer for them? That if I force them to cross over at the time of my selfish desire, they might just get hit by a car and something fatal could result? Do I know that there is an appropriate time for us both to move and meet, wherein we would be able to help one another in a much smoother transition? These are the type of conclusions we must reach to save ourselves. If you have met someone, unless absolutely detrimental to their wellbeing, leave them where they are and accept their position. They will move when necessary. And if they don’t ever meet you: hail down the nearest car and drive yourself far far away. It is a very selfish thing to expect everyone to bend to your rules. What would we benefit from 7 billion of me? Or 7 billion of you? Something which keeps me sane and level-headed in uncontrollable moments is when I reflect and understand that with 7 billion+ people comes 7 billion storylines all occurring at once, meaning that some things are going to be unorthodox to ensure we all get to the right endings, so expect a few scene changes in your script.
People aren’t your enemy because they don’t agree nor mirror your choices. We are regularly building the wrong enemies and that’s what has led me to write this piece. What we should fight instead is an absence of love, as opposed to those who abuse it. Then, and only then will we get to the root.
So, whilst we cannot see the inner workings of a person, take them at face value. With a pinch of empathy and a hearty helping of self-sufficiency.
All my love,
Sarah J.
This was a great read! It reminded me in the Bible where it says that we don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities of the unseen world. I’ve realized that life is a lot more nuanced and difficult than black and white, so even when I don’t understand why another person does what they do, I can respect them and have grace for them because you never know what they’re going through or the narrative playing in their own mind. Thanks for sharing!