I’m struggling with the news and social media today. The anger and judgements weigh heavy on my heart. There are so many ways to consider every issue, and it’s difficult not to become attached to our beliefs or positions. As the owner of a company whos’ primary focus is enhancing good, quality sleep, I know that questions which trouble our hearts, also influence our sleep. As much as I’d like to believe that awesome bamboo jammies and loungewear will sooth our souls enough to sleep like babies, I personally need a little emotional well-being to go along with them! It troubles me to see friends at odds with loved ones, and more than ever, I think it’s important to remember that our facts and our positions do not have to define us or the people we love.
Based on the facts of the time, the world used to be flat. But (most of us) know differently now. This is the best explanation I can offer to justify why the world of pure fact is not my only home. I co-exist in the world of spirit, the utterances of the heart that do not yet have verifiable evidence to back them up. Dialog sometimes necessitates substantiation, but it’s important to remember that a conversation is like a dance. A successful exchange is one in which we are heard and respected. Each move is one to balance your partner, enhance their flow. We don’t need someone to agree with us to feel respected and to flow with them. We need our viewpoints to be acknowledged and heard. To feel respected, we need to be respected.
Particularly on social media, it’s easy for conversations to digress into what I call “competitive conversation”. That’s where instead of being thoughtfully considered, ones’ perspectives and opinions are discounted with practiced rebuttals, defenses or facts that may or may not be true. As we know, often what are believed as facts change, and they are merely a piece of the puzzle. But in a competitive conversation, facts are King.
Fair and respectful communication is the foundation for peaceful love in a relationship or a society. It takes attention and patience. If we choose to dance together, to respect one another, we cannot use power to force our truth on another. We don’t jolt our dance partner into position when they err. We flow partially to their misstep and gently guide them back to the dance floor. We may not agree or understand each other today, but when our viewpoints and perspectives are delivered and received with mutual respect and love, we are able to hear and perhaps shift a little. If we can trust both utterances from spirit and physical evidence, we can venture beyond the edge of believed facts to find truth.
We cannot individually change the many woes of the world. We can change whether our focus is on openness and love or on division. Today may we all commit to love and connection, to dancing and flowing. Let’s disregard the divisive language we see and move back to a meeting of minds, a conversation between friends.
May your heart be pure enough to sleep like a baby tonight.
Sweet Dreams Always.
