Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Via FB: Senator Kamila Harris -- as shared by Jim Hardwick

"I was speaking to a high school class a few weeks ago and one of the students asked me what we are going to do about a divided America.

"I said I rejected the premise. America isn’t divided. When people wake up at three o’clock in the morning, often in a cold sweat, they are never thinking about life through the lens of being a Democrat or a Republican. The vast majority of folks are thinking about their personal health, the health of their children, the health of their parents, can they get a job, can they keep a job, can they pay the bills by the end of the month, can they retire with dignity?

"The point is that the vast majority of people have so much more in common than what separates us. 

The way we come out of this political nightmare is to reject the false premise that we are a divided country.

"And that means we have to acknowledge what unites us: the universal truths and the universal values that define us. It means we have to listen to one another. It’s why, for example, about once a month I’ve been asking supporters like you to take our issues survey—it’s because I want to know how you’re feeling right now. Not through the lens of partisan politics, but through your eyes, your hopes, and your fears.

"The problem with Washington is that too many people have accepted the false premise that there are core party issues, not issues that are important to those we are supposed to protect and empower.

"I’m a realist, but I’m also an optimist. I believe we can listen and push past the cliche in Washington to get things done that will help people.

"That means we have to be ready to both listen to one another and to fight for the values and the concerns that keep all of us up at night."

Via Daily Dharma: Why Awareness Matters

With awareness, there is space—allowing us to interrupt habitual response patterns and bring intention to our responses, choosing to form a different association. In time, we can begin to carve a new path into the riverbank.

—Wendy Hasenkamp, “Brain Karma