My heart is broken this week as I come face-to-face with so much grief and disillusionment.\u00a0 Working as a Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Director has been an overwhelming adventure during these trying times.\u00a0 Patients are dying, but people cannot come together to grieve.\u00a0 This crisis has flipped the world upside down with regards to helping bereaved reach out to support groups.\u00a0 This can only be done now over the phone.\u00a0 How do I help these individuals find peace within the firestorm surrounding their lives?\u00a0 Sometimes, there is anger at God when there is loss, so I always walk a tightrope, making sure they are ready to actually grasp their Savior\u2019s great love for them.\u00a0 At times, they are just not ready.\u00a0 So, my current role is helping them grieve by themselves, which is not the best scenario in any way.<\/p>\n
This coronavirus situation is so devastating for everyone in this world.\u00a0 It can\u2019t be understood where it came from or why.\u00a0 This world is not a perfect place!\u00a0 But the actions of the leaders could have diverted some of this situation, if only they hadn\u2019t walked in denial.\u00a0 For this to become a political cause, though, is just not a fact.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the fault of republicans or democrats; it\u2019s the fact that sometimes – life sucks!<\/p>\n
There is no perfect identity, but I think the world wants to believe there is.\u00a0 Republicans aren\u2019t perfect and democrats aren\u2019t perfect.\u00a0 So, what does that leave us in today\u2019s political climate?\u00a0 A world of imperfection!\u00a0 When we strike out at political beliefs different than ours (or religious beliefs or gender differences or sexual preferences or race differences, etc.), we are only weakening our own identity.<\/p>\n
Identity <\/em><\/strong>was an interesting read.\u00a0 Per Fukuyama, people\u2019s happiness is driven more by relative rather than absolute levels of income and by social recognition.\u00a0 In an interview with the Washington Post, Fukuyama explained:<\/p>\n \u201cMany who vote for populist politicians feels they have been invisible to elites who are indifferent to their struggles and ready to favor immigrants, minorities and others \u201cless deserving.\u201d\u00a0 This perception is untrue but lies behind much of the anger from members of former majority populations.\u00a0 This is why Brexit voters were willing to risk economic costs as long as they could \u201cget their country back\u201d and why Trump voters are often happy with his confrontational anti-elite rhetoric in the absence of concrete socio-economic gains for themselves.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n In The Road Back To You, <\/em><\/strong>the author focuses her book on the Enneagram to help understand ourselves and each other better.\u00a0 The author explores that not only do you learn more about yourself, but you will also start to see the world through other people\u2019s views, understanding how and why people think, feel and act the way they do.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Although we can never change others, we can change our perception and view of the world by \u2018walking in the moccasins\u2019 of others and seeing the world through their eyes.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t the world be an amazing place if we could feel the heartbeat of each other – and love through a truly open heart? \u00a0We can only dream\u2026<\/p>\n