Red and Blue

And that bird is being torn apart by the current atmosphere.  Ask yourself.  Who gains from all this discord?  What are ALL of us in danger of losing? 

Believe me when I say my head wants to believe this.  My heart wants it to be so.  But my belly is in knots over the differences.   I struggle with my emotions of anger and fear. I would go so far as to call them outrage and terror.  I'm wondering if we all are feeling the same? 

In mediation, when two individuals or groups or parties are in conflict, we focus on the "gems".  Gems are points of agreement no matter how small and insignificant they may seem. I don't think I'm speaking out of turn to say; we all care about our families; we all want to breathe clean air and drink pure water and eat poison-free food.  We all want to be able to rely on expert assistance if/when we are injured or ill.  We all want to be respected.  We want to be free.  Please let me know if you disagree with these facts.  Are there others?  I'd love to hear them!

I listened to a Hidden Brain podcast yesterday which provided a new way to think about this.  It's called Red Brain, Blue Brain. 

I also discovered an organization called Better Angels which I'm still in the process of reviewing although its goals seem positive and worthwhile.

Resolving conflict and hammering out agreements between opposing parties is hard, hard work which starts inside. 

 Further Reading