Recharging together
I am struggling with seeing how divided we are as human beings right now. The division seemed pretty deep already in years past, but then a sunrise came upon a pandemic out of the blue that changed everything and seemed to widen our rift. In the midst of the biggest disrupter in our lifetime, as free-willed individuals, we do what we do best: our own thing. As we do this, I see, hear, and experience judgments coming from others (and even from myself) about people being together as if the pandemic never happened. Who knew togetherness could become so controversial.
None of us are immune to having an opinion about what's going on in the world around us, especially when all of us are impacted in different ways. But what if there was something meaningful we could do besides having our own opinion? When I take a step back and think about our reality as a whole, I wonder if there is a way to heal our widening rift while finding the root of our actions. I pondered this question today and here's what came pouring out.
Healing our rift begins one step at a time:
The first step involves opening ourselves up to someone else's mindset. Behind every disagreement lies someone's deeper reasoning and feeling. It's easier to fall back on anger and throw up our hands in surrender to settle with how things look today. But when we push past our pride, our hurt, our own story, we can connect deeper with others. This not only has the potential to resolve issues but could also bind us closer together. It's the willingness to learn what's beyond the shallow waters that will grow our compassion and peace.
The second step is about learning to be more vocal. Part of how to air out our grievances lies in communication. If you are someone who has been having a hard time with someone, ask yourself if that someone is aware of your hard time. Perhaps addressing your feelings gently with others will lead to the path of grounded understanding.
The third step is about having a two-way conversation where both parties can speak and feel heard. Instead of feeling anger in isolation, let's hear each other out and have conversations instead of shutting our metaphorical doors to one another in a time where we need each other the most. Let's keep trying again today, tomorrow and the next begin giving others the benefit of the doubt.
I too need to learn how to do take these steps. Even as I write these words, I see it as a challenge to be courageous and strong enough to open myself up to be this vulnerable. I know I am not going to have a breakthrough with all of my connections, and it'd be easier to do nothing and stay the same, but it wouldn't unleash growth, connection, or love. And I don't know about you, but I am not interested in being stagnant in my life. I am here to live fully, which includes taking risks and growing with others.
Healing our rifts is about recharging together. While much of recharging is focused on individual care and being honest with yourself and others about what you need, there is a collective recharge that we also must tap into in order to strengthen our community.
In this quest, I personally am hopeful that I will find perseverance in my self and others. I am also hoping to find that behind the reasons, the actions, and the beliefs, the root of all we do resides in love. I believe it is there, we just need to be brave enough to face and scrape off the layers to reach it.