As I walk through the piles of autumnal crispy
debris, the sound reverberates in me. The crunching noise reminds me of voices
shouting in continuous waves of angst, pain, and suffering. I am jarred. Calming
and centering myself, I hear the familiar buzz of the Sacred as it wraps around
me.
“Reconciliation is possible,” the Sacred hugs.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I do not believe that
most people intentionally hurt others. In fact, I believe that our deep
woundedness is caused by our personal suffering and is the unconscious trigger
of our lashing out. The actions triggered by our wounds have driven wedges into
our community.
We are at a point at which we can no longer ignore the polarization
that has become increasing more evident over the past year or so. Good people, really
all of us, have been hurt in some way or another. But, we often do not have a way
of channeling the hurt. We get stuck in an endless cycle of being hooked,
lashing out, and being hooked yet again. This gap between us and them will
continue to widen until we stop our personal cycle.
In this place of less than peace we are not aware of how our judgments
and beliefs create our fragile personal reality which is comprised of both the authentic
and the illusory. We get so stuck in fear that we cannot even identify the illusions. The only way to increase peace in our self
and the world is by courageously identifying our wounds, our illusions, and our
authentic.
How do we step into this place of peace? That begins simply and
perhaps not so easily with our self. By consciously and intentionally listening
to our internal monologue, we step into the way of peace. The foundation of our
internal monologue is a complex mix of our thoughts, our body sensations, our
emotions, and our spirit. Intentionally listening to all aspects of our self
leads to an understanding of who we are and how our reactions and responses
form our reality.
Once we are familiar with our internal monologue, we reflect on key
questions.
What is the message I share through my life?
How am I an agent of the change I want to see in
the world?
How can I shift my intent and actions to better
give voice to my message?
We do not listen to our internal monologue once and totally
understand who we are. This listening to self is an ongoing, never-ending
journey of self-discovering that leads to authentic manifestation. It is the
foundation of our listening internally and externally. Through this
bi-listening, we gain a greater awareness of how our internal monologue informs
every external dialogue.
With each conversation, we recognize that the most important part of
any dialogue is listening. The purpose of dialogue is to gain information not
to agree with another but to understand their reality. With this understanding,
we are able to question what is real and identify the illusions we are harboring.
Through dialogue we sit in the common ground not to sway the other to our point
of view or be swayed to theirs, but to enter the common ground of respect and
mutual understanding.
No longer judging another or attempting to defend our self, we
practice nonattachment. We do not cling to our beliefs; rather, we hold them
with a willingness to reframe them when necessary. We do not cast the beliefs
and opinions of another aside because they do not align with ours. We
objectively listen and create a bridge of understanding that leads us to common
ground.
As we consciously root out any thoughts that birth violent words and
actions, we create the space for peace to flourish. We consciously become a
vessel of peace and compassion as we act in light of Matthieu Ricard’s words,
“Compassion is not a reward for good behavior.” We alleviate suffering and heal
personal and collective wounds.
We are contemplative; we are mindful; we are anything that raises
our awareness. We listen to our wounds. We listen to the wounds of others. We
listen to understand suffering. And, in this listening we become compassion
warrior-healers. We build a bridge to
community plank by plank across the illusion of divide.
I would imagine that we are called to tread a path similar to that
of Mahatmas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, and many others.
Will it be easy? No. I would guess that creating their constellation of
connections was a long, laborious process. But, in the end, each constellation burned
brightly in the collective night sky as it connected so many sparks of
compassion one to the other. This conflagration burned away the suffering of
individuals and community.
These masters of the Way of Peace welcomed individuals who lived
many different realities, but all had the same burning desire to build a light bridge
of hope across the chasm of illusion. Each yearned to dance across bridge in
celebration of our diversity and our similarities. Each yearned to create a constellation of
connections; a community of peace, hope, and compassion.
Because #weareinthistogether,
Vanessa
Vanessa F. Hurst is Compassion Officer at Intent & Action. She is a Mindful Coach, Compassion
Consultant, Professional Speaker, and Author who weaves her inner wisdom
in all she touches.
Her books are Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action and A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships.
More from Vanessa: www.intentandaction.com
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