Sharing Halloween candy was never easy, especially giving away cherry flavored Tootsie Pops. As learned in Kindergarten and along the way, however, “the more we share, the more we have”, the sweeter life becomes. Sharing our resources and gifts multiplies happiness. Yet, sharing of ourselves at a deeper level can be a rarity. It’s not often that we let our guard down, perhaps feeling threatened by the conversation, especially about political topics.
PODCAST VERSION:
The Second Sharing refers to our willingness to be ourselves and find common ground. Last week At The World Within Reach: A Travel Workshop participants brainstormed and chatted comfortably about their travel dreams. They listened generously by reflecting back what they were hearing. Sometimes tips and suggestions were made. Honestly, in our disparate world, the conversation was stunning to witness. How was it that guests opened their hearts so readily?
An Easy Topic
The topic of travel resonated with everyone in the room. As one participant quipped, she “never knew how much fun it would be to talk about travel dreams with total strangers”. It’s good to remind ourselves that usually we have more in common with others than we might perceive. Differences in politics has led us astray from shared concerns and aspirations. Finding Common Ground starts with seeing similarities.
When struggling to broach a difficult topic, start with a subject in common. Consider what you share with another person. Regardless of difficulties, we all desire a meaningful life and connection to our fellow human being. It really can be as easy as talking about travel.
Build trust. We started with simple questions: Why do you travel? What brought you here tonight? What kind of travel takes you out of your comfort zone? Easy questions with no “right or wrong” answers. Everyone was able to participate and feel heard, building trust. Heads nodded and eyes sparkled as participants acknowledged another person through listening.
Understand perimeters. Often we’re unprepared for someone’s story. Perhaps it overwhelms us and we begin to experience emotional distress, unsure how to respond. In these circumstance it’s not necessary to take on the emotions of another person nor solve their challenges. Rather listening is the biggest gift and all that’s truly required.
In this forum, we offered clear instructions and objectives. The agenda helped keep participants on task. Similarly when it’s your turn to “have the floor” understand what’s appropriate to share and work within those perimeters.
Show up with your best self; otherwise go home. Of course life and work throw challenges our way and it’s not always easy to feel present or calm. When in conversation, cultivate awareness of your emotions and thoughts versus letting them “run the show”. Trust that your answers are good enough. Your presence is what’s required and appreciated most.
At The World Within Reach: A Travel Workshop we uncovered that “you and me” are similar. You are just like me in so many ways. Through travel we found our common ground.
