Panting for Unity

"The leader of a community is the guardian of unity. He or she must
thirst for unity and work for it day and night. For this, the leader must
not fear conflict but rather accept it and strive to be an instrument of
reconciliation; the leader must be in contact with all the different
elements in the community, and particularly with those who are in pain or
who are angry with the community. "

- Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, p. 215

This quote reminds me of my 2 year stint as our church committee member. At
that time I thought the lesson to be learned from the experience was that
one should be humble (to a somewhat ridiculous extent) and patient to get
people to come together on anything. We had a very easy time as a committee
because we were sort of in a holding pattern as a church at that time. I
also felt that I was entitled to respect for all the extra work that I put
in since I was almost press ganged into joining at a time when there was
deep division among the traditional church elders. I certainly developed a
respect for the next committee.

But over the years I have forgotten that because the church has grown
financially and people wise. Vanier reminds me that leadership takes an
enormous toll. There is a somewhat natural tendency in even the most
sincere leaders over time to close their ears to the troublesome elements of
the church. To be open and to renew commitment deep within to hearing and
reconciling discord that is the inevitable product of community is probably
not humanly possible.

Spirit possessed world

The link is a review of the book, "The Master and His Emissary" by Ian McGilchrist.

 

Two short extracts from the article.

 

"... He questions the accepted doctrine that the left hemisphere (Left henceforward) is necessarily dominant, the practical partner, while the right more or less sits around writing poetry. He points out that this "left-hemisphere chauvinism" cannot be correct because it is always Right's business to envisage what is going on as a whole, while Left provides precision on particular issues. Moreover, it is Right that is responsible for surveying the whole scene and channelling incoming data, so it is more directly in touch with the world. This means that Right usually knows what Left is doing, but Left may know nothing about concerns outside its own enclave and may even refuse to admit their existence."

 

".. This notion, which now involves seeing everything natural as an object, inert, senseless and detached from us, arose as part of the dualist vision of a split between body and soul. It was designed to glorify God by removing all competing spiritual forces from the realm of nature."

 

A right use of both people and things must therefore involve some resonance with the spirit of both?