leading through conflict
What if we raised a generation so that they learned to be “conflict literate?”
- What if we raised a generation so that they learned to be “conflict literate?”
- What if we students in business, management, law, and even medicine learned how to turn conflict from a liability into an asset?
- What if all of us at diverse faith-based schools taught about other systems of belief?
- What if we created in every community a public space designed for dialogue?
- What if we developed news media that were a laboratory for negotiation and dialogue?
- What if those of us in education learned and applied the tools of the Mediator?
- What if we voters supported political candidates who ran campaigns that strengthened communities rather than dividing them to get the most votes?
- What if we encouraged the U.S. Congress and other national legislatures to have an Office of Facilitation?
Some do not understand
that we must die,
But those who do realize this
settle their quarrels.
~ The Buddha Continue reading
Our challenge is to see the seed or opportunity buried in the soil of conflict – Lofty Thoughts?
In the well-known story about the three bricklayers, working side by side, each is asked what he is doing. The first replies, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am constructing a wall.” But the third answers, “I am building a cathedral.” To lead through conflict, we face the challenge of holding a vision of the cathedral, a vision of what is possible. Our challenge is to see the seed or opportunity buried in the soil of conflict. Of course, sometimes the conflict is so entrenched and bitter that we feel helpless. Overwhelmed by grief, sorrow, or rage, we wonder if there will ever be any progress at all. But even in the most tragic circumstances, the seed of opportunity often lies just beneath the surface. 
ONE TUSK 