Open The Hea(R)T
By maestro. Filed in Productivity |
As we take in our surroundings, how can we most effectively tune ourselves to hear the wisdom we need to resolve this conflict?
A mother of a client had a very painful childhood. She lost both parents and the maternal grandparents who had cared for her by the time she was an adolescent. After a breakdown as a young adult and a failed marriage, she rarely spoke about her past. As one of her six children, her daughter Ellen had asked her mother a hundred different ways about her life and the world that haunted both of them. Yet her mother chose to hold her silence.
Then late one night, Ellen called her mother to say she had just seen a movie from 1948 that she thought her mother must have seen and enjoyed. That night at midnight, her mother’s stories from 1948 and earlier began to pour forth, tales of her childhood, her parents, and the family dog. These were the stories Ellen had wished for but had given up hope of ever hearing. Ellen said, “I have never felt so connected to my mother in my entire life. When I said, ‘I love you’ at the end of the call, I really meant it from a deep place inside myself.”
When I asked what was different that night, Ellen said that she had not called her mother for any other reason than to tell her about the movie. It was late and quiet at both homes. Both women were tired, and all the internal thinking, worrying, and strategizing voices were asleep. Their hearts were open, truth spoke, and it was heard.
Taken From : The Way of Conflict—Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences
