10 Things We Can Do to Contribute to Internal, Interpersonal, and Organizational Peace

1. Spend some time each day quietly reflecting on how we would like to relate to ourselves and others.
2. Remember that all human beings have the same needs.
3. Check our intention to see if we are as interested in others getting their needs met as our own.
4. When asking someone to do something, check first to see if we are making a request or a demand.
5. Instead of saying what we DON'T want someone to do, say what we DO want the person to do.
6. Instead of...

From Eugene photographer Gina Easley:

This just blew my mind. The Sun magazine (March 2019 issue) published my photo of a man sitting at the Empathy Tent (which can be found at our Saturday outdoor market here in Eugene). At the time I took the photo I didn’t get his name, and didn't know the name of the group that runs the tent, so I've been hoping to figure out a way to find him to give him a copy of the magazine. Yesterday one of the Sun readers sent me an email inquiring about the photo and mentioned that there is a stuffed giraffe next to the man in the photo and that the...

You know arguing is painful and doesn’t go anywhere, but you can’t stop yourself. You hear your own tense voice pushing your view and negating the other person’s view. You repeat yourself while getting louder, knowing all the while that it’s not helping. Afterwards, you feel hurt and exasperated. You long for a way through that is easy and connected.

Mostly, arguments like these arise and repeat because neither you nor the other person trust that needs will be heard and honored. Without this trust, you hold tightly to your opinion about how things should go. You think you have the...

When someone you love is facing a big challenge, you naturally want to help. Unfortunately, it is not always clear how to help. When it is something practical or physical, you might feel relief at knowing exactly how to contribute. When it is something emotionally complex, it’s not as easy to know how to offer support.

To complicate matters further, often your loved one doesn’t know what to ask for or what would be helpful. If there is reactivity in the mix, you are aware of not wanting to escalate it, but, at the same time, you know you want to help.

There is no simple...