No Enemies
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“I see no stranger, I see no enemy.” — Attributed to Bhai Kanhaiya, Sikh tradition
In the last day, the United States started military strikes against Iran again after new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has struck back. Civilians are once more trapped by choices they never made. Homes will be lost. Children will mourn. Rivers and coastlines will show the marks of fire, oil, and war. Once violence begins, it rarely stays limited to military targets.
When I see news like this, I wonder what wisdom the world’s spiritual traditions can give us that politics cannot.
There is a story from the Sikh tradition…
Over three hundred years ago, during a fierce battle, a Sikh disciple named Bhai Kanhaiya walked onto the battlefield with a goatskin full of water. The wounded called to him, and he knelt by their side, giving them water to drink.
News spread quickly through the Sikh camp, and the soldiers became angry.
“He is giving water to the enemy,” they complained. “He is strengthening the very people who are trying to kill us.”
They brought Bhai Kanhaiya before Guru Gobind Singh, expecting him to be punished.
The Guru asked him if the accusations were true.
“Yes,” Kanhaiya replied.
“And why would you do such a thing?”
His answer has been remembered for centuries.
“My Lord, I saw no enemy. I saw only human faces. In each face I saw your light.”
The Guru did not rebuke him.
Instead, he handed Bhai Kanhaiya medicine and bandages.
“If you see only the Divine in every person,” he said, “then you must also treat their wounds.”
This story asks a lot of us, maybe the best of us. War depends on our ability to stop seeing each other…just enough. Enough to make another child someone else’s child. Enough to make another neighborhood someone else’s neighborhood. Enough to make another country’s suffering seem distant from our own.
Every bomb first explodes in the imagination, where another human being becomes less fully human.
The Sikh tradition rejects that first step. It teaches that under every uniform, passport, language, belief, and fear, there is first a face. Within that face is the presence of the Holy.
That conviction does not solve geopolitical conflicts. It doesn’t erase the difficult work of diplomacy or the painful realities of violence. But it does establish a boundary that must never be crossed. No political goal is worth making us forget someone else’s humanity.
In times of war, it is tempting to ask, “Whose side are you on?” But the Sikh tradition asks: Can you still see the face in front of you?
I do not know how this latest conflict between the United States and Iran will end. But I do know that long after the generals stop talking, someone will need to carry water. Someone will need to bandage wounds. Someone will need to rebuild homes. Someone will need to teach children that the future does not have to repeat the past.
Maybe that has always been the holiest work. It’s not winning the battle itself, but refusing to lose our ability to care for others while the battle goes on.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where have you been tempted to let fear, politics, or grief make another person less fully human?
Who are the people your community has been taught to see as enemies?
What would it mean to carry water in this moment, even if you cannot stop the war?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For Those Who Carry Water
God of every wounded body, When bombs fall and fear takes hold, keep our hearts from closing. When leaders speak of enemies and targets, teach us to see faces. When violence makes compassion feel foolish, give us the courage to carry water anyway. Bless the healers, the witnesses, the rescuers, the peacemakers, and all who bind wounds while the world burns. May we never forget that no one is beyond the reach of your light. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Read the Headlines Differently
Read today’s headlines.
Each time you encounter a word like enemy, migrant, soldier, civilian, or terrorist, pause.
Replace the label with the words: “A human being.”
Notice how the story changes.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
July 14, 11:00 - 12:30pm ET - Community Conversation on The Commons - Margaret Wheatley will be joining me for a conversation on how we build “islands of sanity” in a world that feels increasingly fragile. She has identified five pillars in the architecture of resilient community. For those of us wishing to form and be in healthy community with others in this time, you don’t want to miss this conversation. REGISTER HERE.
July 28 - September 1, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, “I Eat The Stars” by Sarah Wilson. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
June 29, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
My friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust have some of the coolest classes. One I am particularly drawn to is their Celtic Spirituality School where you get to learn from people like John Philip Newell, Ilia Delio, Carl McColman, Sharon Blackie, and more. Read more about their program.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
I feel like the willingness to live in a loving way regardless of outcomes is so important today. I suffer a great deal, and I often feel inadequate and overwhelmed. And yet it is possible to live in loving kindness and beauty even now. Do not let your heart grow cold and hard. Soft, warm heart and soft, warm eyes are more important than ever.
"Every bomb first explodes in the imagination." Jesus knew this, too, when he stated we commit violence toward a neighbor even when we think about doing so. Our thoughts, our imaginations need need to be converted to the mind of Christ. Our lips can speak platitudes while our hearts seek revenge. The Sikhs live the beatitude, "Blessed are the peacemakers."