Next time someone tells you that they do not like you much, or cannot stand your guts, count yourself as lucky and privileged. Lucky and privileged? Indeed! it could be worse. Had it been someone else, he or she might have chosen to hate your guts and wish you off the face of the earth, all under the cover of a fake, insincere smile. That would render you a potential victim for a painful backstabbing.
The saying that we must keep our friends close and our enemies closer has existed since Methuselah was in diapers. It is easy for your enemy to keep you close by pretending to be your friend, but how can you in turn keep your enemies close if you do not even know that they are your enemies? Imagine pouring your heart out to someone that you erringly consider to be a close friend. You share your secrets, your fears, your dreams and aspirations then later learn you are now the subject of cheap gossip. Surely little else can be as heart wrenching as having your fears and weaknesses used against you.
Give me an open and honest foe anyday. With him, I know exactly where I stand. There is no fake and valueless friendship and we know where we stand with each other. In some weird, somewhat twisted and ironic manner, this open enmity is guided by mutually established boundaries and respect. There is no risk of running into a mirage that upon closer scrutiny will vanish away and leave me with an open mouth, wondering why I never saw things for what they were. Having been let down many times by fake and insincere friends who secretly harboured ill feels towards me, I stand by my sentiments. I say it again; give me an open and honest foe, anyday!
