"We cure disagreements
by building a bridge
of mutual respect first,
a bridge that permits
education or dialogue or learning.
When you burn that bridge,
you've ensured nothing but conflict."
-- Seth Godin
I was thinking about major disagreements. One holds tight to this the other holds tight to that and apart they remain. In fact, not just apart, but at odds with one another because there is nothing to discuss except supporting arguments solidifying one's own position. I'm right and you're, of course, wrong. What else is there?
Then I saw this bit from management guru, Seth Godin, and I see how clearly it is that major disagreements can bring adversaries together utilizing a bridge of mutual respect. It is that bridge that allows the flow of potential information that may sway minds to consider another path; other options.
How does one build this bridge amid the emotion and chaos of territorial defense? We begin with love. Yes, it is love the builds the bridge. It is love that creates the idea of respecting the other enough to allow another, more open and human look into how and why they feel the way they do.
It is in this loving position of empathy, that we connect to ourselves in the other, and they in us. The bridge brings us together to the potential of not only understanding, but perhaps even exchanging positions, or even more loving, allowing each position to exist on its own without any insistence that there be only one position.
The position of right and wrong destroys the bridge. We must let that go to cross it.
I Think It Is Not Just Personal Disagreements, But ALL Disagreements That This Applies To.
Spread Some Joy Today--Hone your bridge building skills. Love your enemies.
No comments:
Post a Comment