Inclusion starts within
One of the ways in which the tension of the multiple crisis we are facing manifests itself is polarization. Although polarization is not new in our culture, it is more pronounced at this moment. Positions are moving further and further apart and in this distancing each one gets more entrenched in the belief that their version is right and, in the need to convince, or failing that, to at least dominate and if possible, eliminate the “other”.
I do not believe that polarization will lead us to a collective space in which we can create the solutions we need. Polarization is somehow inherent in the different crises we are experiencing, and as Einstein said, it is not possible to solve a problem from the same level at which it was created.
This moment is asking for something different from humanity and therefore from each one of us. I believe that one of the essential elements it is asking of us is to nurture an inclusive culture; a culture where there is the maturity to recognize and respect diversity, to listen with openness and curiosity to all parties, and from this space discover what each one has to contribute.
The answers we seek are not on one side or the other; we will begin to build them when we manage to create the space that can hold all differences, transcending that which creates separation.
Reaching this level of maturity requires healing. To heal we need to take the time and space to see, feel, accept, process and integrate what has led us to what we are experiencing. We need to recognize and accept what we have collectively created, both beauty and pain, from the inclusion and compassion of unconditional love.
This has been one of the most important lessons I have learned as I have walked my own path. I have learned that to be open to diversity, I need to see, embrace and accept all of me. What I like and what I don't like, what I share with others and what I hide, the guilt, the shame, the fear, the judgment, the pain...all my life experiences. I have learned that the more I can see and accept myself in unconditional love, the more I can do the same for others.
I have learned that inclusion begins with myself; that when every part of me feels seen, heard and accepted unconditionally, I experience the healing power of inclusion; polarities harmonize, and their qualities integrate.
The solutions to the crises we are experiencing will not emerge from polarization. We need to collectively arrive at a space that can hold all differences and diversity in a broader perspective. It is from this place that we will heal what needs to be healed and something new will emerge.
This begins with each human being healing and integrating the places in themselves that are in conflict, the one´s that have been excluded. Not in an intellectual exercise, but from the unconditional love and inclusion of the heart; from the vulnerability and courage of a heart that can see and feel everything as it is.
The heart is the only one capable of transcending the culture of division and polarization. If we open our heart to feel our individual and collective experiences, we will find the place in us that recognizes that there is only one life here; that is able to be compassionate to our individual and collective experiences; that has the courage to surrender to a purpose that goes beyond an individual quest for safety and well-being, and that has the love and wisdom to nurture an inclusive culture where the planet as a whole can heal and flourish.
