I admit that I’m been on a bit of a soapbox lately.
I’m climbing up there for connection
And I’m probably preaching to the choir, but…
We need connection and compassion more than ever right now.
I realize that there is a high chance for every one of us that there is someone in your life making choices you don’t agree with. Welcome to human life.
And I realize that some of those choices may feel like life or death right now.
And I'm still going to ask you to stand down, take a breath, and consider the nuances of a situation before making a statement about it.
There is a lot of dissconnection going around.
Citizens feel disconnected from their leadership.
Families feel physically disconnected at best, and emotionally disconnected at worst.
Many of us are trying valiantly to convince each other to change their position on hot-button topics to no avail- just more disconnection.
Black and white thinking, polarizing, is a form of negative self-talk.
Whoa. Let that sink in for a minute.
Friends, we have a lot of polarization going on these days.
And a lot of feeling negative. They are connected.
We’re in a relationship with each other. Not a standing-on-top-of-mountains-of-opposing-ideas-and-yelling-at each other.
It doesn't matter if the relationship is romantic, friendship, business, acquaintance, provider-client, or the person that comes through your check-out line every day, or the person that rings you up. Those are all relationships.
It’s much easier to say something superficial, or to ask if they saw the latest terrible tragedy on the news, than to build relationships and support.
But really, it's not that difficult to build relationships.
Do they buy cat food? Ask about their cat. Do you know they have children/ a spouse/ a passion? Ask about that. Are they wearing an unusual color or interesting accessories? Do they look like they need someone to ask if they are okay, for real? Or do they look extra happy? Notice. Communicate.
Building a relationship doesn't mean diving to the depths right away.
(sometimes it does, but not usually)
It means being kind. Looking for common ground that is more personal. Speaking from your heart and not simply repeating sound bites.
It means looking for a shade of gray to comment on instead of stark opposition.
And yes, this all means that you need to be just a little bit more present, pay a little bit more attention, be a little bit more here now. Refocus.
If you have been in the polarizing fog of current mass reality, it will feel different.
Please give it a chance. Try it out for a few days. Just as an experiment.
It's worth the effort.
You might like it.