Finding Hope in Distress

For the past several months, I have had a growing sense of depression about what I was observing in so many people in relation to the recent political election.   I know, ‘spare me the commentary of the political process or opinions about who should have won’.   Beyond that there have been some deeply troubling tendencies in our world that cause me pause and, frankly, make me very sad and distressed.  I am worried about the re-emergence of the ‘us vs them’ mentality whether it expresses itself in racism, sexism, religion and/or culture.  The world has become increasingly smaller and the diversity of our society has stirred new thinking about who we are in finding our way to live and relate to one another.  The challenge for us is finding the way to resist the popular blame game that isolates us from our neighbors.  Whether that isolation infects our local community, our cities or, indeed, the global relations we have come to need, we simply cannot afford to isolate ourselves without paying a dear price at all levels.  And yet, it appears headed in that direction.

I find myself on this ‘morning after’ wondering what do we do next?  Frankly it is a bit overwhelming to experience this question in the moment.  And yet, we must deeply reflect on the kind of world, the kind of relationships we choose to have with one another.  This causes me to search for the glimmer of hope somewhere in this crazy, messy world.  

I have long believed that the fundamental secret to healthy groups, organizations and communities is discovered in building and sustaining healthy relationships.  Relationships are so foundational to our greatest accomplishments. Hi performing teams demonstrate healthy relationships.  Organizations that value their members more than the bottom line are committed to inclusive human resource relationships.  Healthy relationships can breathe life into our journey on this earth.  Healthy relationships cannot be built or sustained on the platform of isolation.  So how is it that we can move ahead?

For those who share this value, we are called upon to increase our efforts to bring people together.  Those who desire to build a better world will be challenged to come together in truly meaningful conversations about our lives, our values and our dreams for a better future.  There will need to be a renewal of our commitment to be unifiers, peace makers and healing agents among the broken.  

These conversations will only bear fruit through a profound commitment to the art of listening, without judgement, blame or shame.  In the past year, this very tough world that we live in just got tougher. Without being naïve to the violent evil of fundamentalism or the abusive power of others, we will only find hope when we are able to join with others of like mind and heart to build and sustain community.  Through sustaining this spirit of community, we can find the courage and strength to reach out to others to welcome them in.  By truly listening to one another we come to know ourselves better.  We can also come to be more keenly aware of our position of privilege when necessary and prepare ourselves to enter into one another’s space with integrity and respect.

YES, we can!

Next week I have the privilege of doing some training with a group in British Columbia on the Art of Hosting.  This could not be more timely for me….I will share some insights from this special opportunity soon.