Peacemaker’s Boon

Dialogue is the real key to relationship. Similar to how dialogue is essential to our relationship with God, dialogue is also essential for our relationships with one another. Often, we conflate two people talking to dialogue, but that’s not necessarily the case. More often than not, it’s two people monologuing in response to what the other has said. Sometimes, it’s two people monologuing just for the sake of it. 

In order to progress in listening, it requires empathy. The ability to sit in someone else’s experience. To use one’s voice to ask questions about that person’s experience. To truly feel what the other feels. I think there’s a belief that if we don’t use our voice for a length of time, it means that we don’t have one. To the contrary, it’s those that have security in their voice to know that it doesn’t have to be used at all times. And when it does need to be used, it’s utilized to effectively uproot the thorns and thistles of injustice, while planting seeds of life. 

Listening: the peacemaker’s chief weapon.