Come Out Of Your Little World

Healing Haiku

1.7.2026

In a chilled climate

come out of your small circle.

Warm up to “that one”.

It’s a new year and I’m able to say things are different for me – and I mean that in a positive sense. I have seen my prayers answered but in an unexpected way.

I was in a stuck place and couldn’t find a way out of the quicksand. I finally threw up my hands in surrender. That’s when things began to change. Non-traditional healing approaches helped me do inner work that was holding me back. Some added non-traditional healing methods took care of a few physical issues that my western trained doctors had not been able to identify for over four years.

And now I’m moving forward.

I have new energy and a new view of the landscape and horizons. I am more open to things that I had resisted before. I’m less judgmental. And I embrace things I have avoided.

Here’s my invitation to you: Join me. It’s time. Let go of whatever is holding you back. Open yourself up to a new way of healing; one that used to be traditional but is becoming lost. It’s listening to hear. Listening seems to be going against traditions of civility, particularly if we’re listening to someone who is different from us.

Years ago, as part of a personal/professional development workshop, one assignment was to practice actively listening to someone who is 180 degrees different from who I am. Imagine a circle with a small dot in the center and a dot outside the circle. The one inside the circle represents you in your own world. The other dot represents someone who is not a part of your world. The idea is to notice how listening without judging can move you out of the center of your world and closer to the other person.

By actively listening without judgment or distrust, the dialogue will be smoother and go much further than anticipated. Simply ask a series of harmless open-ended questions and see where the conversation goes. As you listen you will notice your dot moving.

That’s what I discovered in the early 2000s when I knocked on the door of a complete stranger. He lived in a nearby suburb, was from a different culture and ethnic group than mine, and he had a yard sign proclaiming we were polar opposites on the political spectrum. He immediately agreed to help me with my assignment. We sat and talked for over thirty minutes, and things were going well until I copped an attitude about one of his answers.

Although my dot had moved outside of my circle, in that moment with my judgment about his choices I returned to the center of my little world. Immediately he got defensive, and it was easy to see the train was going off the rails. I quickly apologized and asked him to continue. As I listened silently, my dot moved out of the circle again. At the end of the conversation, I thanked him for his time and the lessons learned from listening. He, too, was surprised at what could happen when a stranger strikes up a conversation.

What I heard from him resonates with everyone I know. We all want the best for our children, we want to be healthy, to be able to afford owning a home and have good neighbors, to have a job and earn a living wage. You get the picture.

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Back to my invitation. Join me in doing a new thing around healing.

I write with a generative perspective on what it is you want to create. Last year’s offerings were designed to get your neurons firing in a different way – to be more contemplative, to see our interconnectedness, to notice the divine signals that show up. It was encouragement to stay connected in yourself and with the Holy Spirit who is here to guide us. This year, move into that work that you want to see unfold. Maybe it’s healing work between regular people you notice but avoid.

If you happen to be looking at all the divisive chaos, who is the “other” person on the outside of your circle? Who is “that one” who probably wants the same thing as you, but some loud noise drowns out the simple conversations you could be having? Take this opportunity to come out of your small circle. Move to the edge and cross that boundary and begin the healing process. We’re all fractured and need relief.

Practice an easy “starter” conversation. If you’re not covered in tattoos, find someone who is. If you’re not a senior citizen, chat it up with someone who is, or vice versa. See what’s possible when you just listen to hear. Once you get comfortable with the starter conversation, move to “that one” who rubs you like sandpaper.

Rather than listening to the noisy voices that create divisions, listen to what your soul is longing for - peace, joy and feeling fully alive. At some point we all have to play a role in turning this ship around. Be the one to begin making the change you want to see. Start small. For example, ‘What’s the song that makes you want to dance each time you hear it?’ Find your own innocent question. It will rise up and come to you once you focus on your intent to connect with someone. Keep it light and see where it goes.

Here’s a quote from my morning tea bag: The difference between a flower and a weed is judgment. Turn the prism you’re looking through and see something completely different. Aren’t you ready for something new?