Gossamer Threads

Last night after a wonderful weekend of tai chi, I opened Facebook.  The first post in my newsfeed said only, "Me too," but it didn't take much scrolling before I understood what it meant. Since then, the posts I've seen have, as a whole, been both horrifying and beautiful.  I sat crying this morning as I read the stories of my friends brave enough to share more than just "me too." "Me too" is horrifying because it is universal.  My friends list is made up of people of many races, religions, nationalities, political parties, and economic situations.  This is not a liberal or conservative issue.  It's not something that happens more to women who believe in God than those that don't or vice versa.  It is not about rich or poor.  So many of my friends from every walk of life typed, "me too." But the beauty in this movement also made me cry. The graphic design friend who created an avatar that women could use on Facebook. The frie...

A friend asked some wonderful questions yesterday on Facebook. This morning, I took the time to answer.  Because this topic is so important to the mission of Gossamer Threads, I decided to share it here as well.   Lori wrote: " If you are so inclined to contemplate, I'd love to know your thoughts. Three-part question: 1. What does it mean to truly listen to another human being? 2. Have the majority of us ever properly learned how? When it comes to deeply-held belief differences, (politics, religion, football, music, etc) in conflict (in conflict is the key here) I am pretty sure the answer to #2 is no. I am being realistic (not pessimistic?). However. 3. Are there ways to listen, understand, empathize, and respect other deeply held beliefs when they are in direct conflict with yours? If so, what are those ways? Definition of key terms in this context: Listening: different than hearing. Listening is an active process where the listener makes a conscious decisi...