Guns and Safety

Buffalo …  Uvalde, Texas … Where did it start?  Where will it end?  Will it end?  Or is this the legacy we leave for our children?

I have not lost a child. I can not imagine the pain. But to lose a child in this way. OMG! How can we keep the faith?  Can we keep the faith? Should we keep the faith? Or is our society on an irreversible downward spiral?

R. I. P. –  U.S.A. ?

In case you didn’t get the memo, guns have now become the #1 killer of children in the U.S.

Faith, Hope, and Safety

Because it is so horrible, we must keep the faith. There is no easy solution. But here are four principles that we must live by if we are to have any chance of moving forward.

1.  Acknowledge that the current state is untenanble. Survival requires change. Never give up on hope.

2. Talk. Express how you feel. Openly, Courageously, Respectfully.

3. Listen. Even to those with opposing views. Especially to those with opposing views.

How We Solve Complex Problems

We solve complex problems through conversation. A lot of it. Complex problem solving requires people with opposing points of view to work out their differences. Complex problem solving requires us to listen and hear what others are saying. It requires clear speaking, using tools like reframing and asking great questions. It requires dealing with moments when we are triggered. We must move our mode of discourse from “Conversations of Protection” (defending our point of view, trying always to “win” the conversation) to “Learning Conversations” (built on trust and empathy, listening and awareness).  None of this is easy. In a time when we are so polarized and isolated, it is especially difficult. But difficult does not equal impossible.

Never give up on hope.

Mindful Conversation is a set of attitudes, skills and behaviors. Part art, part science and part way of being. As we approach the multiple complex problems that beset our nation, we need a way to talk that brings out the best in us, helps us understand and heal, and guides us through the turmoil.

I don’t guarantee that Mindful Conversation will immediately solve all the problems. I can guarantee, however, that without a way to talk together we will stay locked in our prisons of fear and distrust. More children will die. Our wonderful experiment in multi-cultural, democracy will wither on the vine.

The stakes are too high. Never give up.