Taking a Break to Be Introspective in Mediation

Some may have noticed that I have taken a 30 day hiatus from blogging.  I did it intentionally, because I needed to tamp down the noise of every day conflict and listen without adding my voice to the chaos.  I saw that Maria Shriver took a month off from her regular blog in August, and I thought it was time for me to try my hands at stillness for these past 30 days.  

The past 30 days have been restorative for me.  Through terrible news of mass shootings and civic betrayals, flooding and failed diplomatic efforts worldwide, I have remained silent.  Although I haven't found any of the answers or solutions, I have learned something very useful for mediation:  silence may lead to wisdom from within--or at least may help each party to see it's ultimate truth as well as conduct a small self-reflection of how much the fight is worth to them, or alternatively, how much ending the fight is valued.  

As a Jewish American, I have been spent much of September assessing, atoning, asking for forgiveness, vowing to do better in the coming year and praying that I and those that I love are in the book of life for another year.  Now, in what we call "the season of our gladness", I'm choosing to re-commit to bringing light to every new conflict before me--instead of acting on instinct and merely adding my voice to the noise and amplifying the differences among us.