The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

One of the mainstays of successful mediation strategies is to get each party to actively imagine a point in time when resolution of their concerns is replaced by the desire to move forward with one’s life. It doesn’t mean that everything works out perfectly, or that they will come to absolute agreement on every issue. It does, however, recognize the freedom that comes from the shared goal of putting concerns in the past in order to get on with the future. The likelihood of a favorable result is largely a factor of the attitude the parties bring to the table.

Communities at large are often composed of the very kinds of people that we would expect to find in a stereotypical secular environment. The tipoff sometimes comes from the kind of language used, or the willingness to challenge one another in disputes that turn nasty. At other moments, there can be a decided lack of civility that is startling, permeated by resounding arrogance and a general disregard for anyone but themselves. And that’s just those who regard themselves as Christians!

The point is that we are more same than different. Our hopes, desires, despair and dreams are recognizable in the faces of others if we pay even the smallest bit of attention. The realization that we are in relationship with others whether we wish to be or not forms a mandate for all of us to embrace, a mandate of loving and treating others in the same ways and manners that we would like to be treated ourselves. It’s a rather Biblical and common sense concept, is it not?

If nothing else, the lessons of the pandemic include a model of interdependency, a way of living and thriving that is reliant on others as much as ourselves. Imagine the numbers of goods and services that we take for granted, things that we could neither make nor market to those who need them.

It would be healthful for us as individuals to increase our awareness of the interdependencies formed around our relative small orbits of work, family, and play. When faith is injected into the equation, the possibilities for something good to happen compound, often in miraculous ways. For a short time longer we are asked to keep our focus and see things through, never forgetting to provide aid when we can and to share the cup of cold water with those in need.

When we are on the other side of the Covid crisis, there will be ample time to share experiences and stories, renew longings and hope, and sate our hunger for ‘wantedness’ and belonging that, until recently, seemed remote if not impossible for many. It is time for all of us, Christian and non-Christian, to live up to our obligations and responsibilities. Can we set aside labels and sarcasm as well as the debilitating social media platforms that declare enlightenment but deliver so much invective and hurt?

How will we represent ourselves to others if we aren’t willing to reflect divine light? It is time to mediate our concerns with each other, knowing that there is no Camelot, but also recognizing the abundance of ways that we can work and walk and thrive together. We owe it to our younger generations and to ourselves. What attitude will we bring to the table?