My neighbors, my friends, my community--OUR Nation feels profoundly divided; surly, rude, bombastic, mean-spirited because, indeed, we are; TOO much finger pointing.
Here is the thing, we come by this naturally. This isn't the first time we've had to face down our darker impulses.
This is the existential threat: we give in to complacency and fail to do the hard work of determining what we believe, filtering out the "smoke" by applying our values and intellect to the process of making up our minds. We must commit ourselves to personal growth, which requires effort, discipline, homework, and HEARTwork.
Refuse the sheep.
One critical component for growth is listening to people who don't see life through the same set of lenses we use to process the world around us; we NEED people who don't think like us, regardless of which direction we lean from the center. It's remarkable how much insight can be gleaned and common ground established when we listen.
Just imagine people with whom we disagree strongly expanding our understanding, intellect, compassion, and perhaps most importantly, allowing us to exercise, and grow, the godly discipline of grace.
America--a remarkable idea.
Liveitwell!
