There was a soul whose time had come to take a human birth, and so it went to the great cavern in the infinite void where all such souls went. In the cavern there were hundreds of thousands of souls, each manifesting as a small blue flame.

And the soul spoke and said, “And on earth, if i am to learn the greatest lessons of all, the lessons of humility, tolerance under provocation, and love to those who hate me, I shall need enemies. I need people to hate me, abuse me and do violence against me. Who will do this for me? Who will be my enemies on earth?”

There was a long pause in the cavern until, at last a small group came forward and said, “We are your soul group. This is the most delicate and difficult task, and if you are to be hurt and abused, it is better done by loving friends. We will be your enemies on earth.”