Jacqueline Novogratz mentioned it in her book, Manifesto for amoral revolution, as one of twelve moral leadership practices.
It’s easy to think it as the external situation where two parties hold opposing values in tension while creating an agreement, maybe.
It’s hard to imagine it as the internal state of being where two values co-exist and process at the same time.
Marshall Rosenberg said, everything we do is in service of our need.
In order to meet our needs, we implement strategies. What’s confusing is that needs can also be used as strategies to meet a deeper need.
When holding opposing values internally, they can be strategies. Until we are clear about the deeper need that we are trying to meet, it’s challenging to simply do that because of the internal conflicts and mixed emotions. With the clarity of the deeper need, holding opposing values can be a way to expand our capacity and understanding to truly see the others, such as people who seem to disagree with us on the surface.
The clarity of our needs comes from the ultimate self-connection.
Having the awareness is the first step.
