For and against limits our ability to understand.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out. It’s difficult to escape polarization these days. There are so many current hot button issues: BLM, abortion, Supreme Court vacancy, absentee ballots, global warming, to name a few. Most of us have opinions on these topics, and they tend to be strong opinions. For any firm opinion we hold, there are folks who hold a differing opinion just as firmly. The election cycle injects more urgency and ratchets up the tension around these issues. How do we step out of the adversarial thoughts and dialogue, to start to reach understanding and solutions?
We tend to get so focused on an issue and our own or others’ opinions about it, that we fail to understand why the issue matters. To get past conflict, we need to realize why the issue elicits strong feelings in us. Are we scared, disgusted, hopeless, etc? When we slow down, listen to ourselves, and intuit the reason for our reaction, we may also recognize that others will have an interior impetus for their reactions, as well. We will need to listen rather than confront to begin the process of reconciling differing stances. If we can perceive our own and others’ needs, we have the basis on which a solution can be reached.
Today’s message reminds me not to react to seemingly polarized situations with yet more separation consciousness. To move beyond impasse, I will need to step outside the conceptual realm of us versus them. I can choose not to feed my perception of separation by being aware of what information I consume and what thoughts I entertain. I alone am responsible for my perception of reality.
How about you? How do you deal with polarization?