2019 is here.
Each New Year I normally focus on setting specific goals and have decided to add something new this year: a theme to live by in 2019.
2019: The Year of Civility
I was moved as I watched an interview in which the interviewer and the person interviewed were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. I had seen the interviewee on previous programs and in nearly all of them, he was bombarded with ad hominem attacks while the merit of his ideas was ignored. But in this particular interview, the interviewer took a different approach. He began by focusing on points where he and his guest had agreement and the conversation focused on positions rather than personal attacks. In the end, despite their differences the two were able to come up with solutions to some of the divisive issues that face us today.
It was refreshing to see how individuals with opposite perspectives were able to engage in a civil conversation that sought to reach solutions integrating their different viewpoints. It was particularly encouraging in today’s environment of endless incivility. This is true in the political arena and in the myriad anonymous hateful comments for topics addressed on the Internet. One only has to check out the Twittersphere to find language that insults, attacks and demeans.
There’s not much we can do to change what other people do or say, but we can control our own words and actions. If we are to have a civil world we must begin right where we are. As Mahatma Gandhi noted, “you must be the change you wish to see in the world."
To do my part, I’ve decided to make civility my theme for 2019. I will set it as an intention when I start my day with an affirmation to keep it in the forefront of my awareness. I will repeat it often, and in particular when the surface mind wants to do otherwise. I believe this will in some small way add more civility to the energetic field we are all a part of.
I suspect embodying this theme will help transform my consciousness in ways I do not know about at this moment. I look forward to doing this every day whether I feel like or not. Whether it is toward people who I agree with or those whose perspectives are different from mine.
This is my theme for the year. My intent is to go all in and see how this experiment turns out.
What is your theme for 2019? I would love to know.
Have a Great New Year!
James