Second Look: Be a Weaver, Not a Ripper

Belonging. Inclusion. Golden Rule. Room at the table. Citizens of one world. These have been themes on InspiredtoGive.org for the past year. We are not alone. The voice, a demand really, for unity is getting louder…Can you hear it?

The call is not for a “group think” kind of unity, but one for empathy and connection, regardless of divided opinions, that help people feel inseparable from a whole of humanity. In fact, many voices are saying it is a moral imperative that we find ways to come together because people are actually dying from social isolation.

In a recent column, “A Nation of Weavers,” David Brooks describes the pain of suicide, injustice, worthlessness and disparagement as sharing a common thread of social isolation that results in a culture of fear, distrust, tribalism, shaming and strife. Anyone who participates in this kind of culture rips apart the social fabric of mutual support.

Brooks was increasingly distressed with observing and writing about this social threat, so he started Weave: The Social Fabric Project to seek out how the isolation problem is being addressed by individuals in neighborhoods and towns throughout the country. To his delight, he discovered that these people-weavers are everywhere: They are building community and weaving a new social fabric with caring, listening, patience, empathy, acceptance.

How do the weavers look past stereotypes, misunderstandings, disagreements, hurt and anger to love across the divides?

Brooks offers this approach: “If you can change the lens through which people see the world…then you can change the way people want to be…and act in the world.”

Change the lens, change the actions. Fans of InspiredtoGive.org know what the effective lens must be– the magnifying lens of good. It’s kind of a Big Duh, really…Since it’s in you, then it must be in the other person too! That’s the start.

Let’s all look past the differences and see the good. How? Engage, ask questions without judgment, listen patiently and openly, be generous with your heart, and find a shared value or two or three. This is the way to connect, this is how we weave the common thread of good throughout our communities.

Be a good citizen of our one world. Magnify good.