Guest post by Mia: Having Enemies is a Waste of Life, But Making Friends Can Save One

Having Enemies is a Waste of Life, But Making Friends Can Save One

Being a friend is one of the many honors common people receive in their everyday lives. I personally find friends to be an extremely important part of my life, and it is safe to say that I would do just about anything for them. I sometimes feel closer to my friends than I do my family, mainly because there isn’t that element of pressure, or that feeling that I am not good enough for them. Friends are people that are important in another person’s life and it is not uncommon to hear about or even see people making huge sacrifices for the ones they really care about. In this story of two men who were once enemies, but are now friends, Saki writes, “...If my men are the first to come you shall be the first to be helped, as though you were my guest” (Saki para. 19). This man if reaching out to the other to make amends and end their feud. He is showing this man compassion even through all the hatred and anger they had towards each other. He is sacrificing his opportunity to be freed from under the tree first and his chance to claim victory over the other man, therefore giving him the qualities and understandings of a friend.

The other man soon comes around to the idea of accepting his past enemy as a newly found friend when he writes, “I never thought to have wanted to do other than hate you all my life, but I think I have changed my mind about things too” (Saki para. 21). Part of being a friend back to someone is being understanding and putting differences aside to make the friendship work. The author is trying to send a message  here, that even these men, who despised each other for so long, were able to put aside their differences and try something new. Being a friend means being willing to make sacrifices for a person that another person truly cares about, and being able to put differences aside to just live the best life a person can.