In this TEDtalk, Elizabeth Lesser discusses ideas for connecting with the "other," the person who is "different":
Connection to the other is a theme this week. I've posted about it, worked on it in my own life and work, and President Obama is talking about it too. How have we become so divided? How can we work towards connection?
We need to let go in order to connect. We need to be unafraid, secure, and ready for surprises, challenges, and the adventure of life. This attitude is happiness.
The other we are connecting to is not just someone who is different. The first other we need to embrace are the others in our own hearts; the others inside that we fear, dislike, or are ashamed of.
Living life with faith is about inspiration: going towards the inspiring rather than away from the feared; looking for the choice that fills the heart with a sense of wonder and peace. It's about facing those inside others, loving them, and then letting them go. And then doing it all over again. Because that's what makes the heart sing. And nothing feels more lovely or true than that.
I don't know what's going to happen in this world. There will surely be more love, more pain, more need, more want, more joy, and more despair. What I do know is that we are revolving through the mysterious spiral of the universe one moment at a time. And that today I am filled with wondering, and that feels wonderful.
Thanks for this Erin. I am going to invite "the other" to lunch in the coming weeks. I think it may be someone in the museum community whose motives align more closely with corporate culture than with education missions. I think that is starting local! Great talk that is VERY timely. Thanks for posting!!
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