We All Need Healing — Now More Than Ever
By: Dora Mora
In political science there is a school of thought referred to as realism. The basic concept is that conflict is inevitable. In political theory we study topics such as conflict not to solve it, but to manage it. Political theory makes no stretch of the imagination that this world and politics could operate devoid of conflict. Conflict arises through differences of opinion and manifests in various forms. Governments exist not to solve problems, but manage them through policy. The geopolitical climate from generation to generation exists in conflict. It is rare to see political parties and governments operate without it. We form coalitions and lobby groups when we are able to find common ground. The ultimate goal of world peace seems a far cry from reality in any generation. To examine why conflict persists, we must delve into the components of what is at the root of conflict.
The word conflict itself in the political space takes on another meaning as we study manifestations of conflict. Over time the word war was replaced by conflict. In this application, conflict became associated with armed conflict. Conflict can exist in the opposition of ideas, debate, words and can escalate into armed conflict. When a government feels the need to soften the terminology so as not to alarm the populous, the term war is replaced by conflict. I remember President Obama using this word as he dealt with the geopolitical landscape of his terms in office. World leaders are often thrust into situations that existed long before they began their career. The public tends to point to the current sitting leaders for the current state when often policies take decades to shape the intended change. This means that one world leader may enter a conflict and those to follow are left to manage a past decision made by someone else with the information they have available to steer the world in a desired direction, but change takes time. I am not in support of any party, but as a student in undergrad, I chose Political Science as my major. I graduated from high school in May of 2001. Many of my friends enlisted in the service and chose their branch of military in the U.S. government. George W. Bush was the president at that time and none of us expected what would come to pass in September of 2001. It changed everything. My friends who enlisted to earn an education and find their way in life were suddenly deployed into combat.
As generational conflict continues it leaves me to question why it persists. To address this we must realize we are all human beings and establish a universal baseline of understanding. We all have motives. We all have agendas. Humans do not wish to live in fear, but also find it difficult to shift out of fight or flight mode in our daily lives. It is no wonder to me why conflict persists when the conflict is perpetuated by humans and managed by humans. Wars have been entered into through retaliation, through conviction of belief, through an attempt to push an agenda. The path to Hell is often paved by good intentions. The Catholic Church shows us this during The Crusades. At the heart of it, people operate from different spaces. They are our own inner spaces. People act consciously and unconsciously. In our daily lives we face conflict as a microcosm to the same issues that plague the world at large. That is how tacit assumptions work. A tacit assumption is a deeply held foundational belief that we base our schemas on. We study this term in educational theory and administration. In graduate school my professors prepared us to be the generation who makes the foundational shifts that are necessary for progress in education. I am eternally grateful to the educational administration professors who taught me how to prepare for and create paradigm shifts within individuals and systems. I was fortunate to learn that in order to create change, we must first identify the core beliefs we hold, identify our own biases then seek to understand core beliefs and biases in others. In educational administration, we too delved into conflict management from a different scope. In my education career, I often was tasked with resolving conflict among students, parents and teachers. Conflict can exist anywhere — but why?
Having been out of the system for years now and writing this from the comfort of a town far removed from the conflict in The Middle East and the conflicts that exist on U.S. soil. The ocean air wafts in from the window. This time needed to reflect and write. I am in a land where I struggle to speak the language amongst people who understand that conflict is internal. I have spent nearly a year here and have seen humility in this concept. In order to understand geopolitics, we first have to address the human aspect. The people I am surrounded by and pass on the street have a core foundation based in spirituality. They understand here that we are energy and our energy speaks for us before we ever utter a word. When someone is emitting a negative vibration, people step away. When someone emits a peaceful energy, others feel comfortable to stand beside each other on the bus or in the markets. Many of my friends in the U.S. would call it superstition. I see it as an enlightened way of operating as a culture. Here, people pay for the bus even when the bus driver wouldn’t know they hopped on for free. What it is that makes people honest? What motivates us to look at ourselves? What motivates us to seek inner peace and pay reverence to a power greater than ourselves? I don’t have answers to these questions, but I see the manifestation of these practices daily here.
We need healing now — more than ever.
The healing I am talking about is not at the macro level, but the micro. We cannot control the actions or attitudes of anyone else. We can only search our own hearts to find the wounds that exist from childhood trauma, living in a lack mindset, hurts that happened as we walked day by day to our current state of being. Hurt people hurt people. This quote stuck with me. After years of living in a country that stigmatizes mental health and neglects the soul in pursuit of money, fame and superficial beauty at all costs, I am reminded that nothing makes individuals feel better if inner healing has not been addressed. How do we address it? Psychology would say to make a timeline of your life events, pay attention to what triggers you and examine yourself. When something happens that causes a negative response within you, rather than acting on that negative emotion, take a step back and ask yourself why you feel that response toward the situation. This creates awareness. It is through awareness that we can begin to become cognizant of our own behavioral responses. Journaling helps to process emotions. So does a good therapist. Sometimes a good friend is not qualified to help with these things. Sometimes we need more support than a friend — and that is ok. Sometimes we want to ignore our shadow side aka our subconscious, but in doing so, we fail to address the deepest issues that manifest as repeated conflict in our lives. When someone disagrees with us or proposes an idea that we dislike, asking why we feel that way before addressing the matter can actually reduce the propensity for conflict to arise. It only takes a few seconds to ask yourself "Why do I feel this way?"
Conflict on a larger scale is an aggregate of the human condition. When a group of people feels the same way about something and feel they have nothing to lose or would die for their cause and conviction, that can lead to some messy situations. When we have not done the healing work and act from a place of our own agenda then find like minded individuals, we end up with factions. The Federalist Papers address the danger of factions at length. Intent plays a large role in our daily lives as well as on the world stage. If we as individuals take the time to examine our intent before we speak or act, we create a space where we can make decisions from a more balanced place. Imagine if the healing began right now what the world would look like in ten years. As individuals we may not be able to solve the world’s problems, but if we work on ourselves, we may be able to solve the problems in our own world. A ripple effect could be created in which the results would be exponential. Healing is a good place to start. Inner healing at the micro level theoretically could lead to healing at the macro level. I don’t know if world peace will ever be the norm, but inner peace can be. As individuals strive for inner peace as a daily practice, we can create a healed world as a collective. Heal yourself to heal the planet.
“I can’t change the world but I can change the world in me.” Thank you Bono.
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.
