Sylvia Boorstein recounts a dinner she attended on the eve of the US presidential election over at Shambhala Sun Space. My sense is that she expresses what many of us may have felt as the election process evolved.
“A man sitting across from me, the one person who had been silent during the political conversation, then said, I think I am the only person at this table who voted differently from everyone else. There was a momentary pause, very brief, and then a woman said, I think it is very courageous of you to have told us that.
She goes on:
Well, I did vote differently, the man continued. Ive been a banker all my life and I thought the Republican economic plan was the better plan. He paused, and then said, But Im glad it turned out the way it did. I can see that this is an epochal moment for America and sends an important message to the world.
In the next few minutes people remarked about how good it felt to have non-contentious discourse about differing views and the conversation moved on to other topics.
Truly listening and truly seeing another loosens the views that lead to certainty. Uncertainty can be so very instructive… although I’m not certain of this.