There will always be people who will find
your light too bright for their eyes. They will always try to cast a shadow
over all that you stand for. They will press slow and then even slower until
they see a flicker. They will use everything and anything to cause your light
to dim down and die. They will betray all that they are and all that they have
imagined themselves to be just to make that rain of black pour down on you.
They will pretend, they will gossip, they will provoke you, they will bend the
truth, they will manipulate the people around you, they will try to turn the
ones you love against you. And the worst part is - they will always think that
they are on the side of good.
A man can deal with such people in a number
of different ways – some ways may even bring the satisfaction of a perfect
revenge – but I would like to put forward what the years have taught me well, a
couple of alternatives that some of you might already be familiar with – they
are called silence and kindness. They may not sound as formidable as “confront”
or “subjugate” but their effects are just as substantial and then some. Yes, I have learned that silence drives these people crazy and it brings them
to their knees like lilac under the burning sun. Kindness, in turn, resurrects
them into thinking people.
You see there are voices inside their heads, voices
that curse, spit, swing aimless punches, make mocking faces, voices that remind
them what they really are. And the silence brings these voices into life and
their reality burns like boils on the soles of these people’s feet and the pain
causes them to howl profanities, mumble falsities, and provoke every part of
you to return the disfavor, to prove them right about their accusations. But
you hold still to the silence, you keep to your corner, sullen so the boils
burn stronger and, this time, they scramble to the churches, they fall on their knees, moaning, begging for relief. But relief does not come. You will know
then that it is time for kindness.
