The One True Way and Conflict

There are many ways to handle the situations that come up in our lives, particularly those that hold the most potential for conflict.  Of course, the reasonable, default behavior is to avoid conflict outright.  Avoiding conflict results in behaviors such as avoidance, denial, neglect, and, worst of all, complete and total silence.  While it is reasonable to want to avoid conflict, it is not realistic to think that avoiding conflict will do anything other than delay the inevitable.  Once conflict boils, it never cools down.  And even if you avoid your involvement, it will eventually burn someone.  It might be someone you know, it might be someone you don’t know.  Rest assured someone will get burned.

Another reasonable response is to focus instead on managing the conflict.  Conflict need not be explosive or unpleasant.  Conflict simply means that there is a struggle between opposing sides.  Any conflict can be managed.  In the end, what determine the nature of the outcome of a conflict are the mindsets of those involved.  When we understand and embrace this, we are provided a window of opportunity in which we can seek to influence the coming series of events.  We cannot always be guaranteed success, but the choice of action over non-action, at minimum, places the reigns in our hands.  We do not have to be victims.

Regardless of the route chosen when we encounter conflict, there is only one correct way to handle it: it is the way that feels most authenticate to you.  This is the One True Way.  Our decisions are informed by many things, but none of these is more important than the inner voice that speaks from the most genuine, authenticate place inside of us.  It is intuition.  It is wisdom.  It is the essence of who we want to be. 

Sometimes, we hear the voice and ignore it.  This often leads to dissatisfaction,.  But sometimes, we hear the voice and act according to the message.  And while the results can never be guaranteed, it is the only way to react to conflict and face the consequences with the understanding that the path was one of our choosing.