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Interesting letter to President Obama

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sKePTiKal:

--- Quote --- Internet is a huge luxury for me but not to have access to what the media is saying. I believe they think they've captured the global collective mind.  It's scary to think that they might have.
--- End quote ---

This is one time, I really hope you're wrong, tt!! But the evidence is stacking up that way, I have to admit.

I'm afraid hubs' tv habit, is almost all media, all day long. I'm the reader - and again, I'm inundated with different viewpoints and sources. You'd think this would really trigger all my old anxiety stuff... but except for a vague "urgency" to take care of all the "have tos" and "want tos" on my various lists, I seem to be rather calm. Well, except for the tourette's reflex to calling BS, when someone says something idiotic on tv!! LOL...

I can only take care of and control so much, before I wear myself out. So, while I ought to be throwing wide the doors to infinite horizons of living and thriving - bucket lists, and all that - I find myself pulling those horizons in a lot closer instead; being like a squirrel stashing back acorns for a long, cold, nasty winter. Going back into "what I know"... making things... making allies, too; local ones... being the steward of my little plot of earth... and taking care of the people that make up my business. Our little community has it's issues -- and it feels sometimes as though we're under siege from people who don't even live here, yet feel entitled to tell us what to do. We've grown our own ways of helping out those who need a hand - whether from life stuff or another storm. And we'll do that -- if those people who think they know better than the folks who live here what is the right thing to do -- will just leave us to it.

OK, that one thing I bolded... might just trigger me sometimes. Not with anxiety, though.

gratitude28:
One thing I will say that keeps me sane... life is cyclical... everything. I live by "This Too Shall Pass." I also look at my immediate surroundings for happiness and comfort. My little family gives me no end of joy... even when prodding my son to get his grades in order :)
xxxxoooo to all of us :)

Hopalong:
I just led a small discussion group on post-election processing.
The gist of it was, regardless of which way you voted or how you identify yourself politically:

How was this election season for you? What were the surprises?
Did any events in the campaign or election challenge any of your beliefs? If so, which ones?
Do you have friends or loved ones who are different from you politically?
When you engage those whose opinions you oppose, what works? What does not?

It was a wonderful, meaningful discussion. The outcome or "take-away" boiled down to
our conviction that the only positive way to engage those who disagree, is to listen deeply, hold
compassion, and be genuinely curious. Asking, "Why would you say you see this issue this way?"
Or, "What life experiences have you had that have contributed to how you stand on that?"
Or, "Can you tell me more about this?"

I liked this experience.

xo
Hops

gratitude28:
Hops,
For the most part, I enjoy the company of people who think as I do and hold my beliefs. But I understand with some good people why they believe what they do that doesn't agree with my beliefs. I feel there are a lot of people who do not think, though, and spout of emotionally charged baloney. Not sure if this is more so now than in the past or if I am just grumpier and older :)
xxoo

Hopalong:
Well sure, TT. I think real curiosity involves deep interest in what shapes and inspires another.

I don't think one needs to be afraid of "losing" the self by being open. If compassion is the
first rule, then humility is its natural companion.

Deeply felt convictions or lifelong reasoning may not shift because one chooses to be
geniunely interested in another's. But sometimes they do. I'm sure that it allows the blockages
in relatedness to shift, as long as there's no abuse. I experience that shift as something ultimately
hopeful, I think. Outside of the fringes and the echo chambers, I think it saddens most people
to feel deeply alienated from their fellows.

Even when someone disagrees with me passionately, or I do them, if respect and
genuine curiosity (the goal being to learn from, not to "trip up" the other) are at the
core of an interaction, well, I believe in a ripple effect, more than I do conversions.

Ever the hopeful, if not the optimist...
Hops

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