During this month of biting ads and harassing robo-calls, the idea of “life-giving conflict” may seem out of touch. How, we wonder, is this media-based mudslinging in any way life-giving?
In his book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, Parker Palmer observes that engaging the other to address conflict and work through problems is at the core of being civilized. While our “fight or flight” response leads us to quick fixes or increased violence, our “tend and befriend” response turns the energy of tension and conflict toward constructive ends.
Palmer names five inventions that help us convert tension into life-giving energy: Language opens us to discourse; Art gives us a visceral experience of empathetic encounter; Religion guides us in a meaningful life despite the certainty of death; Education teaches us to hold contradictions reflectively rather than reactively; and Democracy provides political structures to build an interdependent life in community.
Palmer encourages us to cultivate the ability to hold tension in life-giving ways. “Cultivate” means we need to work on it…plant the seed, weed it, water it, and nurture its growth. This is our challenge: to pluck the pearl of life out of the rattling stones of demagoguery.
Quote
Tension is a sign of life, and the end of tension is a sign of death. Parker Palmer
Web
In this brief video, Parker Palmer explores how we can live within the tension of what is and what could be (watch video).
Palmer names five inventions that help us convert tension into life-giving energy: Language opens us to discourse; Art gives us a visceral experience of empathetic encounter; Religion guides us in a meaningful life despite the certainty of death; Education teaches us to hold contradictions reflectively rather than reactively; and Democracy provides political structures to build an interdependent life in community.
Palmer encourages us to cultivate the ability to hold tension in life-giving ways. “Cultivate” means we need to work on it…plant the seed, weed it, water it, and nurture its growth. This is our challenge: to pluck the pearl of life out of the rattling stones of demagoguery.
Quote
Tension is a sign of life, and the end of tension is a sign of death. Parker Palmer
Web
In this brief video, Parker Palmer explores how we can live within the tension of what is and what could be (watch video).
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