Dropping Shields — Grace in Friendships
We are a garden of souls living and learning as we go, no one of us better, no one of us worse. The June calendar that sits near my desk has a breathtaking painting of a lovely garden in a mist of soft colors, birds, and a Rumi quote. “Hear them whisper: Come! Come! It really is like this!”
It could be from not watching the news that I’m feeling the shields have come down from a prior time of division and opposition, at least among folks in my awareness.
In high school social studies we were challenged to purchase a few different papers and find coverage on the same event to compare. It was startling how the event in one paper bore little resemblance to the same event in another paper!
Since then I am wary of how conflicts with friends and family begin because “the news” comes from sources with opposing views. That is all they are; views, opinions, and perspectives where facts are unknown, dismissed, or purposely twisted.
Right now, as we give each other more space to think and believe as we do with generosity and grace, is a resting place. This way of being can continue once the next wave of news controversy arises. We can choose to let the next wave move past us, take action if we feel called, and not let our position cause strife with those we love.
One way that works for me is to open the door of my heart enough to let someone else’s perspective in. I ask questions that invite the other person to tell me about themselves. My view may be contrary to theirs, yet I remain open to learning what makes another feel the way they do, to their humanness. Often uncleared personal history skews the way we perceive events happening around us. If we understand this we open the door to the possibility that anyone at any time can change their view, including ourselves. We are all teachers for one another!
Each person who comes on our path is a mirror for our goodness and light as well as stuck places in dark corners of our being. Today is a new day where we can drop our shields, open our hearts, plant seeds of understanding, and reap the harvest of enjoying one connected body of humanity.
Peace to you this day my friends!
Photo from Flicker by JR P
Heart Seeds© 2022 by Robin Reichert
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