“A Time to Heal”

The following is a synopsis of “A Time To Heal,” an article prepared for Pathways Magazine by Rev. Dr. Trish Hall, Center for Spiritual Living Metro.

It’s time to be gentle with ourselves and others.  We have demonstrated resilience coming through the pandemic and the election year.  We barely recovered from one cataclysmic siege before being thrust into the into the next iteration.  Grief at times like this is natural.  Feelings need to be acknowledged, and yet we each have within us greater strength, resilience, flexibility, flow and tenacity than we may have ever imagined.

Knowing that people hold views diametrically opposed to our own may have caused us to question why their views are so different.  Very often, because of the fear of volatility, instead of asking and seeking connection, we withdraw and hide from conversations about such topics.  It’s time for us to be the initiators of reconciliation conversations.

Simply because someone embraces a different view does not warrant discarding them.  There is a lot to learn about why someone holds a view.  By sharing, by conversing, we can learn the basis for those opinions.  We can meet in a middle ground that includes agreeing to disagree – embracing the healing power of Love.  When we are willing to open our hearts and deeply listen, we may find commonalities.  When we release our pre-judgments about others and their opinions, we are granted the opportunity to learn.  When we learn we expand our capacity to love.  We embrace loving kindness so that when we engage in so called difficult conversations, we do so in ways that invite people into conversations.

This may not feel easy.  Many things in life that are of the utmost value aren’t easy.  They require commitment and trust.  They require the commitment of the participants to remember that relationships are far more valuable than opinions.  Opinions may or may not change.  Ultimate values such as connection far exceed any opinion every embraced.

Now is our time to heal.  Now is our time of reconciliation.  Now is our time to learn new ways of communicating.  Now is our time to build up – to exhibit compassion.  This is the time to recognize Oneness.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to become clear about what really matters to you.

• Do you value your relationships or your opinions more?
  • Are you okay if no one else shares your opinion?
  • Are you okay allowing others to have their own opinions?
  • Are you willing to hold your opinion loosely so that you can hear and feel the opinions of others?

• Do you want to be a catalyst – a healing presence in the world?
  • Are you willing to listen to others to learn why they think what they think?
  • Are you willing to share without trying to convince others?

If your responses to these questions reinforce your priority of relationships over opinions and you are willing to join with others as transformative presences in the world, then begin today.  This approach is not for the faint of heart.  The attributes of those who are willing include:  being “heart centered;” embracing Oneness; being courageous; mediating – being a reconciler.

So, where are you with all of this?  Are you committed to doing your part to change the world for good, mending relationships and causing a tsunami of healing ripples across the world?  If so, I invite you to come change the world with me!

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE 

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.