492 PEACEFUL RESOLUTION DEPENDS ON BRIDGING CONFLICT

Riddle:

What must change before

Solution seekers can begin to work

At resolving conflicts

For the betterment of all involved?

Every mind must open to insight

Into building bridges of communication

By engaging in

Self disciplined discussions

Having worked to train my mind
To tame my anger
During moments fraught with conflict
I feel peaceful, retrospectively for this reason:

I've grown practiced at thinking while speaking
So as not to rub salt into another's open wounds
And thus, during moments of reflection
I rarely cringe from flinging insults that I'd wish to forget

As bridge-building connects mental acuity with emotional maturity
Both sides voice frustrations in need of change—respectfully 
Thus transitioning away from lashing out
With yesteryear's childish retorts

Today, when my request to discuss mind sets
Is met with a nay sayer's furtive attempts
To silence my instinct to express unmet needs ...
I do not turn the other cheek, because I feel weak ...

Au contraire—the quiet nature of my silent stance
Is, in truth, an empathetic response
To having experienced the pain of peeling away at
The tightly wound layers of my persona's—onion

Today, I embrace compassion over combat
For this reason:
While working to build bridges between clarity and reality
I choose to remove my mind from out of the line of fire

Even so, please note
That this is my hope:
I hope that, day by day, more of us
May feel ready to muster the courage to leave denial's hazy maze behind

I hope that as groups tend to absorb knowledge and regroup, again and again
More of us may tune into the instinct to explore and absorb classic insights
Into self awareness, resulting in personal gains
Which prove mutually enriching to the group as a whole


When the name of the game is
LET'S WORK, CONSCIOUSLY, TOWARD RAISING WORLD LEADERS
Tis a common mistake
To attempt to raise clones—who tend to follow rather than lead ...

Insight suggests that if
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION DEPENDS ON BRIDGING CONFLICT
Then it behooves us to raise free spirited, self confident individuals
Who trust themselves to express their needs with well tamed tongues

If children learn to bridge conflicts by mimicking adults
Then doth it not make sense to train our minds
To express personal needs, during times of conflict—
Without making use of innuendo that puts others down?