Anything That Divides Us

"Religion says you're only right if you believe what it believes.  Spirit says you're right when you come from a place of love. Anything that divides us is not from the Spirit. We are all connected." - Wayne William Snellgrove

I instantly loved this quote when I read it on a poster shared by a Facebook connection.  I decided to look up the author and was overwhelmed.  Snellgrove is a survivor of the 60's Scoop, spent 4 years in institutions and then was adopted by a white family. While they were loving parents, he was a native child living in a white environment and never felt like he fit in. 

Snellgrove discovered he had a gift for swimming. He ended up on the US Nation swim team and was a 2 time national champion.  After an injury side-lined him, he worked on his recovery and then began to compete in marathon competitions where he again excelled, but his feeling of disconnect never left. He was a loner who coped with drugs and alcohol.  

Things changed when his adopted mother passed. He committed to finding his birth mother and rediscovering  his heritage. With the help of a 60's Scoop investigator, he found her and, 32 years after being taken away, he returned to the Fishing Lake First Nation Reserve to meet her. From that moment on he began to work to heal his trauma. He became an artist, writer and public speaker, using these mediums to educate others about Native heritage, culture and spirituality. 

What a profound story. What a incredible journey.  One would expect him to overwhelmed with deep anger and resentment. Instead Snellgrove chose to focus on healing and helping others. In the quote above he embraces the universal truth that we are all connected. And his guideline - coming from a place of love - is a great yardstick to hold up when deciding on what actions you need to take.

In the last decade I have seen increasing polarization.  There is an a polarizing I am right, you are wrong attitude taking over.  As Snellgrove so wisely says, if it divides us it is not from the spirit.  While I am not religious in a deity based sense, I have become more spiritual as I age. I have come to believe there is an energy for good surrounding us, ready to guide us. We just have to listen and choose actions that come from a place of respect. I believe it is possible for people to disagree and still offer each other love, tolerance and acceptance. 

I consider it important to my growth to have a wide range of people in my community.  There are many I am connected with who do not believe the same as I do in important areas - politics, vaccines, education, and personal rights.  Respectful discussions with others who disagree with me help open my eyes and expand my mind. Sometimes I realize I need more information.  Many times what I come away with is simply an understanding of their point of view. 

Cocooning yourself in a group where everyone agrees with you all the time creates ignorance and division.  They talk about this in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. Internet algorithms often only offer us more and more information that supports our ideas, while eliminating search results that conflict with them. Their goal is to take you down a rabbit hole that is hard to get out of. I highly suggest watching this show.

Take a moment to look at your social grouping. If you're like most of us, it is heavy in those we are most like. But beyond that, try to also cast your net a bit wider.  Reach out to spend time with those of different gender identification, political views, cultural backgrounds, and ages. The more diverse your exposure, the more you will learn about how others think and what their lives are like. All you need is a willingness to listen and consider. It doesn't require you to agree. 

The key to widening your world is by simply showing an interest, and accepting that it's okay for all of us to think differently. Reflecting back to the quote at the start, come from a place of love.  If your actions cause division, then it's time to rethink your approach.