Deep sadness, Love & Peace

[Masud Sheikh]

Gabriela Ender <gabriela.ender at OpenSpace-Online.com> wrote:

>In the middle of this "peaceful" silence ... news about terror in London
>arrived today.
>
>In deep sadness I am sending Love & Peace to London and warmest regards to
>our colleagues in the UK.
>
>Warmly,
>Gabriela
>
Ah yes, the sadness - the profound sadness.
Not too long passes before something happens to cause profound sadness.
Many times what happens does not even get reported.
Even with this affair, other than the news about these horrid killings,
the only other news on TV was the impact on stock markets.

I don't know whether any of you subscribe to the newsletter from Robert
Fritz (inspiration for Peter Senge about his "learning discipline"
of "personal mastery")

A couple of days back, he sent a newsletter about the need
to "compartmentalize". The first two paragraphs of his newsletter are
given below:

"Watching the news every morning, as many of us do, can be depressing. So
many sad stories, so many disasters, so many heartbreaking pieces. Every
day, more and more of the same.

We can become overwhelmed with it all. And yet, most of us have a survival
instinct that enables us to go on with our lives. It is the ability to
compartmentalize – that is to say, to put the news in one mental
compartment, and then, to be able to change the mental channel. If we
didn’t do this, many of us would spend our entire lives living vicariously
in the pain and suffering of humanity, unable to act, paralyzed, confused,
and defeated."

I sent him a note about it, and am reproducing the exchange below:
 ==========================================================================
Dear Robert,
Thank you for this newsletter, and your way of explaining of how to
continue operating in this world of ours.

However, I do not like or agree with your calling
it “compartmentalization”.

I suggest instead that we talk of “contextualize and prioritize”. What do
you think?
Masud
---------------
Dear Masud,
Thanks for your note. I do think the best word
is "compartmentalize." "contextualize and prioritize" don't quite get at
the meaning I have in mind, which is to place various experience in
compartments, that is to say, to separate them from other experiences so
we can fully experience each of these varied "universes" without having to
make reference to the others, yet not denying them either.

Cheers,
Robert Fritz
 ==========================================================================
I am afraid that I spend quite a lot of time "vicariously in the pain and
suffering of humanity" (to quote Robert). But I think I agree with him
when he talks of "varied universes". And the need to avoid spending most
of one's time in one Universe - the need to go through the "grief work"
(to use HO's words) and move on. Although it is probably worth reflecting
on what (which Universe) one moves to.

Take care, all of you
Masud

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