Luv it you mention "the tools of good work" of St. Benedict. We recently hosted a day themed around Peace in Benedictine context. So I dived in commentaries and found the tool "Not to give a false peace", which explores the proces of becoming / staying grounded and congruent. Sharing and reflecting on this witrh the group helped us to keep faith in humanity and start with ourselves.
I appreciate this insight for an upcoming visit with my family of origin. I have prayed and fretted over how I will handle the situation if the subject of politics comes up. You see, I am on the opposite side of the political fence from the rest of my family. Just me. They know it, and I know it, and we usually don’t talk about it but somehow I have a feeling it’s going to come up this weekend. I’ve already decided that I will start my response with “I love you” to soften things, now I can focus on listening and staying in the room. My go-to response is to leave.
This is a great post - thank you for sharing. I often find myself grumbling over others choices and becoming anxious about how to be around them. But what a gift it is to have the tool of listening with humility and to practice (and really believe it!) that we don't know all!
Luv it you mention "the tools of good work" of St. Benedict. We recently hosted a day themed around Peace in Benedictine context. So I dived in commentaries and found the tool "Not to give a false peace", which explores the proces of becoming / staying grounded and congruent. Sharing and reflecting on this witrh the group helped us to keep faith in humanity and start with ourselves.
I appreciate this insight for an upcoming visit with my family of origin. I have prayed and fretted over how I will handle the situation if the subject of politics comes up. You see, I am on the opposite side of the political fence from the rest of my family. Just me. They know it, and I know it, and we usually don’t talk about it but somehow I have a feeling it’s going to come up this weekend. I’ve already decided that I will start my response with “I love you” to soften things, now I can focus on listening and staying in the room. My go-to response is to leave.
Thanks for this inspiring article Nick. You have helped me to navigate a couple of rather tricky conversations.
I will definitely use "I do not fully understand you, but I am listening." Exactly what I would want someone who disagrees with me to say (& mean).
This is a great post - thank you for sharing. I often find myself grumbling over others choices and becoming anxious about how to be around them. But what a gift it is to have the tool of listening with humility and to practice (and really believe it!) that we don't know all!
Nice article Nick.