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Is it better to ignore or to know your enemy?

On the one hand, life is far too fleeting to devote your precious time and emotional energy to paying attention to individuals who regularly spew or propagate ugly, untrue, hateful words.

On the other hand, how will you be able to speak out against injustice, fight for truth, stand up for those who have no voice, if you’re unaware of the lies and uninformed as to what the haters are saying?

Is it more about this…

…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

~ Philippians 4:8

…or this…

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.

If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

~ The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

…or does it, perhaps, like so many other important issues in this life, come down to the need to learn to maintain a healthy balance?

I genuinely want to know.

Please share your thoughts.

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.