If you don’t speak Cherokee, the language at the top of this sign is probably baffling, maybe even not recognizable as language at all. It’s all too easy, when we don’t understand, to assume that the other person isn’t making sense. But when someone else’s words confuse us, it might be time to pay closer attention, to glean what sense we can rather than simply stepping away.
Who do you take the time to stay in conversation with, even when it is difficult or confusing?
I have several friends whose politics are very different from my own, and I strive to listen to them and learn from them. It’s puzzling, because these are kind, loving, compassionate people, and I have trouble understanding why they take the political positions that they do. But the more I listen, the more I understand that they are trying to achieve good for the world, through a different pathway and approach.