A must-watch TED talk

[wisewomn]

Please share this widely.

https://www.ted.com/talks/ozlem_ceki...il?language=en

[Shandi]

Wow! This is a very powerful message. I challenge everyone to accept her challenge.....if we have the courage!

Özlem Cekic's email inbox has been full of hate mail since 2007, when she won a seat in the Danish Parliament -- becoming the first female Muslim to do so. At first she just deleted the emails, dismissing them as the work of fanatics, until one day a friend made an unexpected suggestion: to reach out to the hate mail writers and invite them to meet for coffee. Hundreds of "dialogue coffee" meetings later, Cekic shares how face-to-face conversation can be one of the most powerful forces to disarm hate -- and challenges us all to engage with people we disagree with.

Please share this widely.

https://www.ted.com/talks/ozlem_ceki...il?language=en

[gaiasophia]

There is great wisdom and courage in Özlem Cekic's advise and actions.

My approach has been:
to not even mention political parties or particular people/politicians when I converse with people.

As Van Jones suggests (in his most recent book) I think it's important to bring the American people back together.
I find things we can agree on:
lies in politics/by politicians, should be made against the law--no matter which side or party!
Let's get corruption and big money out of politics!
We all want clean air, safe environments, good education, need health care and dental care free or at a price we can afford, etc.

United we stand, divided we are falling apart.
Hating each other never helps anything, in my experience.

This doesn't mean we should be naive.

The Native elders from various indigenous peoples I learn from, all speak about the necessity of purifying our hearts, to truly be effective as activists..

In the face of hatred and danger,
truly listening and trying to understand someone, being patient, compassionate and kind,
require enormous inner work: self control, courage and self reflection...

Faking it and "acting nice" won't do it--
we all feel it and can see right through it, when someone is only listening so that they can try to convert us to their point of view.

I frequently say, I try to Love everyone, including those who are hard to Love.

It ain't easy! But it's possible and feels much better and more effective than hate.

Love,
Dusty W
(gaiasophia