“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
Albert Einstein
There never was a good war or a bad peace!
“I hope . . . that Mankind will at length, as they call themselves reasonable Creatures, have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats: For in my Opinion there never
was a good war or a bad peace.”
Benjamin Franklin
Listening and speaking from the heart . . .
"Deep listening from the heart is one half of true communication. Speaking from the heart is the other half."
Sara Paddison
Everyone follows and everyone leads . . .
“Leadership” is a concept we often resist. It seems immodest, even self-aggrandizing, to think of ourselves as leaders. But if it is true that we are made for community, then leadership is everyone’s vocation, and it can be an evasion to insist that it is not. When we live in the close-knit ecosystem called community, everyone follows and everyone leads.”
Parker Palmer
To forgive ourselves . . .
“It is just as necessary to forgive ourselves as it is to forgive others, and the principal reason why forgiveness seemed so difficult is because we have neglected to forgive ourselves.”
Christian D. Larson
If you are dealing with fears . . .
"If you are dealing with fears and insecurities from old head programs, have compassion for yourself. Just love your insecurities, fears and resentments. Release and forgive them as they come up. Judging, beating or repressing insecurities just gives them power. Then you have a pattern that never gets resolved. Recognize that your real security is built from your relationship with your own heart."
Sara Paddison
Empathy and Diversity . . .
“Empathy also is the competency most strongly linked to tolerance for diversity. People who score high in empathy respect and relate well to people from varied backgrounds, and they are more likely to understand diverse world views. Highly empathic individuals also are likely to see diversity as a strength.”
Cary Cherniss and Mitchel Adler
Become more conscious of our feeling-world . . .
"We have to become more conscious of our feeling-world. By learning to identify the ‘emotional baggage’ and manage our feeling-world reactions, we can view life based on current information instead of being held captive by our past."
Doc Childre
In a conflict . . .
“In a conflict, being willing to change allows you to move from a point of view to a viewing point -- a higher, more expansive place, from which you can see both sides.”
Thomas Crum
The past and the future . . .
“The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope.”
Stephen Ambrose
Anger!
"Anger ventilated often hurries toward forgiveness, anger concealed often hardens into revenge."
Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton
To trust yourself . . .
"Trusting someone else can involve gigantic risks, and it leads to the even more challenging task of learning to trust yourself.”
Stephen Nachmanovitch
Personal and emotional!
"Within-group conflict is always personal and emotional -- even if it begins with impersonal issues."
Kenneth Kaye
The right to be ourselves . . .
"We know from our experience that it is easier to develop trust in another person or in a group if we believe that we can disagree, and we will not be abandoned or hurt for our differences. It is difficult to trust those who deny us the right to be ourselves."
Susan Wheelan
To side with the powerful . . .
“Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral."
Paulo Freire
To test a man’s character . . .
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln
Through . . .understanding
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
No eyelids!
“The ear has no eyelids.”
Malcolm de Chazal
As as a leader . . .
“If you are going to be viewed as a leader in your organization and survive and thrive at work into the next century, you must develop your own conflict approach and develop a reputation for leadership in conflict management and consensus building.”
Lynne Eisaguirre
Every man has need to be forgiven . . .
“He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.”
Lord Herbert