Common Ground
In the end, the two men embraced as their differences had been transformed into commonality. But their encounter did not begin on such friendly ground.
Daniel was looking forward to gathering with associates and friends last Thursday. The get-together had been planned to occur a couple of days earlier, but had been pushed-out as a result of the unusually icy, cold weather.
“I think we all were suffering from a little cabin fever,” Daniel said, just before walking into the designated ‘watering hole.’”
There was a sparkle in his eye as he pulled the door open, seeing friends he hadn’t seen for a few weeks. His confidence was overflowing as he spotted Grace and her soft gray eyes. Those eyes were her “tell.” They told everyone she happened upon how kind she was. The evening was beginning just as he had hoped.
That same hope blossomed as he glanced across the room to see other friends sitting at a long, rectangular table. So, he skipped (well, sort of for a man of his age) over to the table to greet them warmly, conversing as he sat with them.
“What do you think of the news?” Eric asked.
“I was with friends,” Daniel said. “So, I didn’t worry about my answer to that seemingly harmless question. I have to tell you I was taken aback by Eric’s vehement reaction to my answer. I had never seen him so hostile.”
Eric’s response was instant. “How could anyone be stupid enough to think that!”
Eric raged in Daniel’s face for a time. So much so that Daniel’s pleasant hopes for his much anticipated, warm cordial evening with friends seemed to be dashed. And, to his credit, he sat patiently, calmly, listening to Eric.
Everyone else at the table tuned out because of the singularly, heated exchange. Their body language ensued separation from the onslaught. Daniel, partly due to his being the one assailed, stayed both absorbed and shielded.
He was absorbing the information coming rapidly at him while searching for commonality. He had been in such confrontations before and felt confident that his listening skills would guide him forward toward a positive outcome for everyone.
“I knew a little bit about Eric and could tell he was passionate about being good to other people. After all, I knew he had served in special forces, because he wanted to protect others. That knowledge was confirmed quite quickly as I listened to what he was saying. So, I began agreeing with his, our common, caring nature. That allowed Eric to recognize the common ground we were standing on!”
As a result, the evening quickly got back on track and the whole table of people were once again actively engaged in friendly, enlivened camaraderie.
“What began in confrontation ended with in a brotherly embrace,” Daniel said gratefully.
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I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.
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