I spent half of my December holiday recovering from flu and another quarter recovering from another health issue that has been going on since November. It gave me a lot of time to ponder, intensely discussing with my significant other on how 2018 taught us so many things about life. We have discovered so many stories from around the world.
From the refugee success in Canada to refugee misery in United States.
From sanitary problem of rural India to child poverty of United States.
From matriarchy villages in Kenya to feminism in United States.
From a Buddhist monk in London to a Muslim refugee in LA.
From the fall of capitalism to the fall of socialism, both on the same continent in the very western hemisphere of earth.
From liberal patriarchy to conservative patriarchy, both are blind to each other’s existence due to opposing ideologies about God.
Polarization is everywhere in many countries. It seems that no civilization is immune from it.
It is time for us to stop using all those false dichotomies.
A dialogue is not enough, because it starts from two extremes. It is hard to meet in the middle, because there is no common ground to meet. Everyone has their own definition about middle, which prevents the common ground from being built. “Your definition of middle is too much toward your side.”
It is time for us to see beyond dualities.
Why can’t we simply call it an act of balancing? Each of us are facing two opposing voices within us. The good and evil, better and worse, the pros and cons, and as legend says angels whisper in our right ear and devils whisper in our left ear.
Why can’t we take the charge to not fall prey to those so-called angels and devils? Why can’t we define our own way of balancing? Balancing is not about middle but beyond.
In a trialogue, the third voice becomes the moderator. Each of us needs this role inside us among our inner voices, as well as between us among the polarizing forces in various societies and cultures. Balancing is a constant endeavor and we are here on earth to learn to do it before we face the more strongly-opposing forces in the other life.
In 2019, I will work on developing ways to help each other in discovering that balancing voice. It will be easy if we use our simple human qualities, but they have been lost in many of us. The challenge is to start by finding that lost human qualities. Definitely not easy, but I can start from myself.
- I am a woman but I see the roles of both genders in social discrimination
- I have lived in developing and developed countries but I see that each country in this world is on its own track not necessarily one after another
- I have a PhD but I find science and mysticism equally valid
I still struggle in many other dualities. No one is immune from this struggle. That is our shared humanity. I want you to help me to gently ease my struggle, and I will help you do yours, too.
Who’s joining me in acknowledging that common struggle we have?
Happy New Year!
