What causes divisiveness, and what cures it

11.18.24

Hi friend,

Last week, I was part of Compassion Week, an annual event with a very timely theme this year: "We All Belong: Practicing Welcome and Inclusion."

The topic got me thinking about the value of belonging in a world where separation and divisiveness are rampant, especially right now.

Belonging fosters connection and well-being. It’s inherently positive and even healing. We’ll dig into this topic this week.

• the meditation aims to open our hearts

• the somatic practice involves heart-opening stretches

• the Dose of Inspiration focuses on the root of divisiveness—this cuts to the core of the week’s theme, so you’ll see an encore presentation of the article in tomorrow’s Self-Love Letter that hits the masses

Expect all the other good stuff this week, too.

Let’s do this thing!

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Meditation: stretch your heart open

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Somatic practice: heart-opening stretches

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Dose of Inspiration: the cause and the cure

Last week, as I prepared to host an event for Compassionate Houston’s annual “Compassion Week,” I thought a lot about the word “belonging” and what it really means.

Individually, when we feel included and have a sense of belonging, we feel more confident, resilient, and fulfilled.

On a societal level, when people feel included as though they belong, there’s more cooperation and compassion. A community is more cohesive, connected, and primed to be solution-oriented.

So what stands in the way? Why do we tend to feel more division and isolation than belonging?

Here’s my thought. In one word—judgment.

Judgment, whether of ourselves or others, fosters separation and negativity.

When we put people into boxes and think in black-and-white terms, we reinforce differences and concretize barriers.

It’s a very human thing to do. We all make judgments all the time, but moving away from reflexively and ardently designating anyone (including ourselves) as good/bad (or any other version of this) opens space for more connection, compassion, and broad-based well-being.

This is important for all of us to remember. It really begs us to look within.

Consider: Who do you judge and why? Do you justify your judgments? Are they okay because the other person is so wrong?

Releasing judgments doesn’t mean that we condone things that we don’t like or agree with. It also doesn’t mean that we abandon our convictions. It’s more about softening our grip on them.

This is actually a power move. When we can set our judgments and the righteousness they spawn aside, we can communicate more effectively and have a more positive impact. We can counterintuitively get more of what we want.

Self-awareness is the first step. I invite you to start reflecting on your judgments.

Simultaneously, this week, we will practice opening our hearts and proactively remembering our common humanity. We all want happiness, security, and well-being.

In embracing openness over judgment, we support ourselves and a richer, brighter, more connected world.

Photo by ANIRUDH on Unsplash

Let’s do the good work,

Marci 🥰