In his book ‘My Spiritual Journey’, the Dalai Lama notes that the negative feelings that arise from “enemies” are the real element of tension we must confront and not the challenging people themselves.
He says that if we truly want to progress, we must regard our enemies as our best teachers. You also may be familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s line, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” It seems that differences between us become the barrier to friendships and unity all too often, but lots of people take big steps to overcome that and in doing so, lead by example. Recently two notable instances have occurred.
In a campaign where the hashtag ‘#ArabsAndJewsRefuseToBeEnemies’ emerged, Jews and Arabs came together to share messages of peace and stories of how their differences had not prevented them becoming friends and families. In another move towards unity beyond differences, a new religious centre has opened in Berlin to bring Christians, Jews and Muslims together in prayer and to learn from one another.
Visiting Derry (City of Culture 2013) for the Children in Crisis / Culture of Compassion event, HH Dalai Lama brought with him a message of peace, compassion, openness and hope for the future based on the children of today. 300 of which joined him in his walk across the Peace Bridge, where he was met by 3 other award winning children of the future. Amazingly, the sun shined brightly for the duration of his walk across the bridge, only for the heavens to open when he reached the other side (symbolic?). 
