Adjusting to the New Year: Diving into Contrasts

I am proud of myself!  I haven't written 2016 all week!  But, to be honest, in many other ways I am having a hard time with this new year.  The constant news of transition planning - with the objective to erase one person's legacy for another, and the incessant pushing and pulling of differing visions... as if one way is Right and another is Wrong...  I am at a loss of how this is important in our daily lives.  I guess I am seeking truth and struggling with perspective.

Can you help?  Maybe read the following, and let me know what you think.

In his most recent book, Last Testament: In His Own Words, Benedict XVI was asked about the difference between the goals in his pontificate and those of the current pope, Francis.  The reporter's question sought to compare and contrast, to provide distinction and opposition.  I found Benedict's response intriguing:
 
"If one isolates things, takes them out of context, one can construct opposites, but not if one looks at the whole.  There may be a different emphasis, but no opposition."

What draws your attention?
(Westfield San Francisco Centre)

Does this mean that we spend too much time looking for separate and contrasting views rather than seeking the meaning and importance of the whole?  Does it mean that we tend to focus on those who agree with us rather than on the overall journey of Discovery, no matter where it leads?  I wonder what it would be like to train ourselves to seek a more expansive view?

In the past, I found the following questions important as I transitioned from one year to the next - I guess, a way to compare and contrast my experiences:

• What did I accomplish last year?
• Where would I like to be at the end of this new year?

But I wonder what it would be like to step back and ask a different set of questions?

• What values do I choose to live by?... followed by...  What values are important to you?
• How might my life have meaning?... followed by...  Can I tell you how meaningful you are in my life?

Are you ready to suspend judgment?
(Under the Dome, San Francisco Centre)

It seems that when I move away from MY way of looking at the world, I begin to see anew a broader and more exciting world:  Home.  It may mean that... A tree can be suspended upside down...  A child can provide wise counsel...  Another person can hold valid truths that may differ from my own.  It may mean that we need one another: for separately, I am alone and talking to myself, but together, I am ready to journey with you.  It may mean that dialogue encourages The Parts to become The Whole.  With dialogue, Right and Wrong become meaning-less words; and we become more open to and seek out the meaning-filled Truth in each other.

Dialogue invites us to adjust to the new Paths ahead.  It does not mean that we let go of the values or visions that have sustained us.  Rather, dialogue asks that we withhold judgment and conclusions as we listen for the Depth of Truth that permeates the whole of Life.  It is as if we are called to dive into the Unknown together... knowing that together, we will be surprised when we arrive!

Are you ready to plunge to new depths?
(Mazatlan cliff divers)

Questions to ponder this week:

• What do you like about yourself?... followed by...  What do you like about [insert Person's Name]?
• When do you feel alone and listening only to yourself?... followed by... When do you feel together and in dialogue with another?
• How might you adjust your view about Self and Other?.... followed by... How might you seek out the views of others? 

 
May the challenges of this new week allow you to dive into the depths of who You are - and who We are together!  (BTW: I am interested in hearing what you think!)

Larry Gardepie
Dialogue San Diego Consulting