Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Inspired by some true events

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've experienced the ability to communicate as one of life's greatest gifts. I don’t want to take this power for granted…and I always want to use this power for good. But just like the reality that love can hurt (a heart is often depicted with an arrow through it), communicating sometimes ends up causing a lot of pain. Apparently, George Bernard Shaw knew exactly what he was talking about when he said: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” What does this quote mean for you today, on this Thoughtful Monday? It explains a lot for me and brings me straight into the following events that I have witnessed recently.

A youngster asked her parent some personal questions. What is wrong? Why do they seem a bit sad lately and concerned about something? What is it? Did they do something wrong? This particular parent strives to be thoughtful and truthful at all times, especially with questions from progeny. After a careful reflection comes the response, since ‘nothing’ does not seem to be a fair or an honest answer to the concerned child.

The Response

No, frankly I have not done anything wrong in this instance, dear daughter. If I did do something wrong, I would seriously consider apologizing for any mistakes or missteps. Why? Because personally it is important to try to make peace especially with those who have been harmed and are hurting.

Regarding this issue which has me feeling sad and depressed, I've done as much as I can to try to make peace and make reparations. I offered support to everyone involved in this particular situation. In fact, so many other leaders of other types of organizations might not have lent a listening ear or given someone so many opportunities to speak out. But the leaders and members of my organization are different from the status quo.

We strive to be as welcoming as possible, so we welcomed all complaints, too. We really wanted to find out if we were the cause of someone being harmed. We even asked how we could help even before we investigated. We offered up an entire committee to act as advocates. Yes, we did all that, plus we tried to be thoughtful and do everything to include everyone because basically that is our goal in socialist practice.

Hurt Feelings & Confusion

The complaints made us sad and confused. Even sadder when we found they were not based in reality at all thereby causing pain to others by not being true. Yet someone still believes them anyway. All of this adds up to quite a sad situation. Still, we offered to help through negotiation which is a pathway to peace and reconciliation. But the claimant refused to try to mend things through negotiation like all members of this organization are willing to do and are expected to do as abolitionist activists. This is making it exceedingly difficult to find an easy pathway to peace and the hurt feelings are lasting much longer. We are doing everything in our power to help, including leaving a window open for the chance of working out a peaceful resolution.

The Final Results

So, this is going to take quite a bit more time than we thought. Even though some circumstances about this have made my friends very sad and consequently make me sad, I am actually not permanently sad. Why? Because I have a great and caring community of comrades surrounding me at this time. Like you and all my family, they can also help me get through this situation with their continued loving support and solidarity.