The Archives
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compassion, empathy, framing, listening, mindfulness, reconciliation, stories, story, ubunu
Three ways to do the spirituality of reconciliation (post 7 in ubuntu series)
11.08.06 | Permalink | 2 CommentsRemembering that reconciliation is a spirituality, not a strategery, we can see three ways to put reconciliation into action. (Courtesy of Schreiter.) 1. Relearn to listen patiently, to ourselves and to others. Between work and email and errands, we forgot how to listen to stories of pain. Maybe we never learned. Maybe no one taught […]
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reconciliation, ubuntu
Seven attitudes that prevent ubuntu (part 6 in ubuntu series)
11.01.06 | Permalink | Comments Off on Seven attitudes that prevent ubuntu (part 6 in ubuntu series)Still drawing from Schreiter’s book on Reconciliation, here are seven ways of looking at folks that prevent reconciliation and ubuntu. 1. Demonizing. The other guy is powerful and dangerous, and he should be eliminated ASAP. 2. Romanticizing. The other guy is “god’s special little angel,” much better than you and I, and probably born that […]
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conflict, conflict-mediation, forgiveness, reconciliation, retribution, ubuntu, violence
Three things reconciliation ain’t (part five in ubuntu series)
10.30.06 | Permalink | 3 CommentsSo if the best way to practice ubuntu is any way that works, then why aren’t we practicing ubuntu better? Violence and conflict—and the memory of violence and conflict—stand in the way. The only way around them to ubuntu is reconciliation. Reconciliation is damn hard. Last night I took some time to thumb through an […]
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expedient-means, reconciliation, ubuntu, upaya
Any way we can (part four in ubuntu series)
10.27.06 | Permalink | 2 CommentsSo if ubuntu is so damn important—maybe even all we really need—how do we do it? Short answer: any way we can. Buddhism has a nice concept called “upaya.” Upaya is the idea that, when crossing the river to enlightenment, any water-worthy thing that gets you across will do. Bass boat, yacht, driftwood—it’s all good. […]
