The Price of Peace

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

“You are entitled to action,
but never to the ownership of how others judge it.”
— Bhagavad Gita

In this part of the world, politics does not need your consent, it decides who you are. If I was deemed “not good enough” in one workplace, it erased everything I had done before. My past efforts lost their value. My history was rewritten by people who barely knew my journey.

What followed was predictable: hatred disguised as principle, envy masked as righteousness, and silent boycotts encouraged by those who once called themselves supporters. They were taught that collecting signatures against me was strength, that opposing me was loyalty to a system. Only later did I see the truth, these were the very people I had once backed. Turning against me cost them nothing.

So much for loyalty. Loyalty without integrity means nothing to me now.
I was left to fend for myself, again and again. No protection, no stronghold, no one to stand beside me. I noticed how easily I got worked up, not because I was weak, but because being constantly left out forces you to fight battles alone. Eventually, exhaustion teaches what anger cannot.

So I chose to walk away.
I walked away from toxic political environments, from constant betrayal repeated so often it was meant to break me, from systems that needed to prove my unworthiness just to survive. It worked. People distrusted me. Doors closed. And yet, who cares?

I lost many things. But I gained peace. I gained quiet. I gained my own space.
Betrayal does not always knock at your door. Sometimes it enters through assumptions, gossip, and the false confidence of people who believe they already know your intentions. Most betrayers are already losing in their own lives. That is why they try to push others down to feel less small for a moment.
As for me, I am no longer disturbed. I prefer my own space. When they appear, I behave as if they are not there. Their energy is drained by broken relationships, not mine.

In this part of the world, skin often speaks louder than character. If your skin is fairer than theirs, you will be watched. If it is darker, you are already suspect kept in cold storage, one mistake away from permanent exclusion. Ironically, politics here always wins, no matter how unjust it is.

To those who are even a shade darker, my advice is simple: if you can, move. Migrate. Life may be hard at first, but it will be lighter in the long run. Here, you are given only one chance. If you fail once, do not expect forgiveness or return. Waiting will only drain you.

If I could un-invent something, it would be jealousy dressed as morality and praise that turns poisonous the moment you stop serving someone else’s comfort. I write this not to accuse, but to empty myself of it.
I move on, not because I was defeated, but because I chose peace over permission, silence over survival, and solitude over corruption.

“One who is steady in loss and gain,
alone yet undisturbed,
has already crossed the battlefield.”
— Bhagavad Gita