THE ART OF BEAUTIFUL ENMITY

The Art of Beautiful Enmity.

I practice what I call "beautiful enmity" I don’t keep enemies. If you stop speaking to me, I’ll still greet you warmly whenever we meet or even ask how you’re doing. I respect when others need space, but I never close the door.  

For over 18 years, I’ve never deleted a single contact from my phone. Even if we haven’t spoken in years, your number remains. I’m a meticulous record-keeper I still have my nursery school book.

 Some people never outgrow 

childish mindsets; they’ll weaponize your kindness to create enmity despite having families of their own.  

Life humbles you profoundly when you’ve stood in a mortuary, identifying bodies. I’ve done this more than once. That first encounter, It rewires your soul for months. Life is too fragile, fleeting, and mysterious to waste on hatred.  

I rarely respond to accusations. Not out of weakness. In truth, my record-keeping makes me quietly formidable. But I choose silence because I know, the next meal or sip of water could be anyone’s last. Some carry sickness for years; I even know a Sister who didn't attend her sister's burial. Carry quarry without reconciliation, letting hatred outlive the grave.  

Don’t let others imprison you in their bitterness. If love can’t dissolve their anger, disarm them with grace. Greet them beautifully whenever your paths cross.  

I write this after scrolling through 5,000 Google of my contacts each a doorway to memories. A secondary school friend once messaged me for something and was shocked I still had his number. You never call he accused. I didn’t say, You never knew where I lived, yet I visited your home, ate your mother’s food, knew your sister. You deleted me; I preserved you.

When people blackmail you with their failures, accept it. They’ve made you a leader. Remember, no sophisticated person truly "loses" contacts they delete them. Facebook alone proves how easily connections endure.  

Let love lead. Always.

Until the moment when will shall dance in white Greater Grace.

Oyugbo Osagie Jonah 

#weekend