When we are scared, it’s easy to judge others based on our fears.  But when we reveal our more vulnerable parts to one another, we shift from relating to our projections of others to relating to the complex, messy and marvelous humans actually in front of us.

00:51 Let’s get personal – what do you think about me?

1:26 The stories we tell ourselves about one another are called our projections.

2:58 Projections skew reality in one particular direction

3:37 We don’t see the mess of others’ lives on social media.

4:12 I tell a personal example of how my projections about a friend were wrong.

5:20 Ask yourself, what fictions are you writing about others?

5:33 In conflict, we are likely to see limited dimensions of others.

6:05 What is missing is the context of people’s lives.

6:50 I sing a Laurence Cole song about kindness.

7:57 Hiding makes us more at risk for separation – it doesn’t make us safer.

8:54 The antidote is to reveal yourself.

9:27 This week’s homework – two parts.

10:00 In the face of gunfire, to remove your armor demands courage.

Resources: Laurence Cole – Singing Together to Nourish the Soul and Re-Enchant the World.

Podcast produced by Sal DeRosalia

Music composed and performed by Mia Kelley

Photo by Yohan Joy on Unsplash