I want to challenge you to do something radical.
Consider hearing more than you want to hear and seeing more than you want to see.
Commit to looking for the meaning in the words and behavior in those around you. Not for what you what you want to see or hear. But for what was meant.
Sometimes that’s as simple as asking, “What did you mean?” Often it’s more an exercise of trying to grasp what the other person is feeling.
My colleagues at the Duncum Center for Conflict Resolution want to help people learn those skills and encourage them to practice them. That’s why we are initiating the “Better Understanding Project.”
Over the next few months, we will be offering tips, techniques and motivational strategies for people who want to get beyond the inane arguments of politics, religion, and frankly, daily pettiness that seem to dominate our lives. There is a better existence — and it is available on every level of life.
Do you find yourself frustrated with family members or co-workers? Have you felt your blood pressure rise when you hear ideas and opinions that differ from yours? Are people becoming the object of your anger? Have you ever caught yourself in a rage over something and then realize you really don’t know the issues involved?
If you said “yes” to any of these questions . . . you are infected with a fairly large dose of normalcy.
But normalcy isn’t what most of us want for our lives. We want something higher and nobler and radical.
Consider the possibilities!