Authentic Warriors Needed

Otto Scharmer notes in the Huffington Post that only Michelle Obama was able to respond to Trump during the campaign in a way that, unlike others, did not make him stronger. 

“It was interesting to watch the entire American media establishment try to take down Donald Trump (after creating him)—only to realize that all their attacks only made him stronger. The only effective voice against him was Michelle Obama’s. She was the one who could take the air out of him. And she did, even to the degree that the Trump camp decided to stop attacking her. What made the First Lady, who has high approval ratings among Democrats as well as Republicans, so much more effective in dealing with the Trump phenomenon?

When you watch her speeches in New Hampshire and Phoenix you see the answer: she responded to him not with hate and fear. Instead, she spoke with empathy, authentic reflection, and compassion. She courageously exposed her own vulnerability showing up as a human being. Michelle Obama also does not primarily focus on the “opponent,” but rather on her own experience, her own opening process, and on the positive future that she feels is wanting to emerge. 

That’s what it takes to be a warrior of the third category, a warrior of the open heart: as you engage the current moment, your eye is on the future that is seeking to emerge—not on the past that you try to fight against.”

Powerful.

Click on the link to get his full text. Worth reading.

Paraphrasing, we can pull out a positive pathway for responding productively to conflict: 

Speak with empathy, authentic reflection, and compassion that rejects hate and fear. 

Courageously expose our own vulnerabilities, rather than dwelling on our opponent's, to be fully present in the moment as a human being. 

Speak from an open heart on the basis of our own experience, and with a child's mind--curious and kind and open to learning. 

Give up all hope of a better past; focus on moving us forward together.