Author Patrick Lencioni is fond of talking about 'good conflict'. He says avoiding conflict is not helpful, but when we are able to disagree in a mature and constructive way, conflict can be really helpful and even creative. Of course, this means that there is also such a thing as bad conflict, which can be so terribly destructive. You can be sure that where we are experiencing bad conflict, there will inevitably be a failure to communicate well and any number of misunderstandings, based on false assumptions about the motives or actions of the other parties. When we have a distorted view of reality, things fall apart.

Last Sunday I mentioned a Jesuit prayer practice called "the Act of the Presence of God" and it came up several times again during the week in conversation. It seems to me that this is a practice that invites us to lay aside our false narratives of how the world is and instead to experience God's perspective. When using this practice, we quiet ourselves and allow ourselves to become aware of the God who is looking at us with love. We notice God noticing us. It is a reminder that, despite all the distorted views we may have of self, the reality is that we are dearly loved - that God delights in us. It also reminds us that God looks at others in the same way - they too are the dearly loved by God. These reminders have the potential to change the way we live and relate in this world.