by Maria Lisa Polegatto
In this age, we need to look for common ground instead of adversity to move forward with compassion, collaboration and humanity. We must seek to agree on issues we can agree on first. Then we can move forward to deal with the issues of adversity to then move to resolve conflict and disagreements by looking deeper into issues to see the commonality and bring that forward to continue to move forward again and again.
It is not a world of win and lose anymore. It needs to be a world we can all survive. Not survive for our mere selves but rather for a collective survival of humanity. We have too much adversity on us now in terms of climate crisis, environment, war, poverty, employment, nature and species extinctions for beginning examples. We need to move to a place of collaboration, innovation, invention and helping one another. We need to start with our home, our family, our community. Getting back to the basics of survival is going to be a must this year.
While some in the world are grabbing at resources for themselves and pulling back on helping other countries, we must look to home and start there. We can overcome adversity with careful observation learning, and understanding of issues. We need to partner with collaborative partners.
We must not get drawn into the drama and concentrate only on that which leads to hatred. Such an awful word but a far worse emotion that draws negative actions, adversity and war. We can succeed by working with those that wish to work collaboratively and for the benefit of all parties instead. Life is too short for adversity. Let us find commonalities and work with those that love as we do.
We can define both common ground and adversity in many different ways. Here is a brief list below to consider on this path ahead of us.
Common Ground verses Adversity
positive negative
love hate
share take
compassion cruelty
innovation stagnation
collaboration resistance
agree disagree
forward backward
partnership disconnection
strong weak
home foreign
community alienation
similarities differences
learning ignorance
beneficial detrimental
functioning dysfunction
helping control
graceful demeaning
peace war
survival annihilation
humanity the end
Reading the two lists above, can you feel the difference in meaning of common ground and adversity? Which do you choose? I chose common ground.