Written by: Paula Drouin, Founder, ADR Learning Institute

There are times when overwhelmed is the only way to feel by all the suffering in the world caused by war. It seems we are all adjusting to the ‘new’ normal too frequently.  The minute you think it can’t get any worse, it does. One day, at a moment of overwhelm, I said Hey Google, ‘how can one person bring peace on Earth?’  This is a portion of the AI response I received:

“While one person cannot single-handedly stop all global conflict, they can create a “culture of peace” that influences their community and beyond.”  It then suggested these five categories, which I added content to:

  1. Cultivate Inner Peace and Self-Awareness.
    1. Practice Meditation
    2. Manage Stress
    3. Manage Emotions
    4. Find quiet moments to breathe deeply
  2. Practice Daily Compassion and Kindness.
    1. See the world through a lens of compassion rather than division
    2. Extend grace to others
    3. Forgive
    4. Practice small acts of kindness
  3. Transform Interpersonal Conflict
    1. Use dialogue to manage differences
    2. Become educated on how to resolve interpersonal conflicts
    3. Listen and speak to understand and be understood
  4. Build Community and Promote Understanding
    1. Volunteer for local charities
    2. Seek to understand people with different perspectives
  5. Be an Agent of Structural Change
    1. Challenge hate speech
    2. Promote non-violence
    3. Confront mean gossip
    4. Promote safe space for all

The response was not fully satisfying, but it did help me realize there are so many things each of us have control over, and most of which we are already doing. For me, it is offering mediation services to replace conflict with understanding, making our conflict resolution courses available to anyone in the world who can join online to attend them.

The foundation for all our Conflict Resolution courses is the K.E.N. Principle. K for Kindness, E for Engagement, and N or holding a Neutral mind when addressing interpersonal conflict. The journey from disagreement to resolution can happen while being kind to each other.

Transforming interpersonal conflict can create a peaceful environment for you and others impacted by those conflicts.  Comfort in Conflict teaches about conflict styles and introduces the C.A.L.M model of conflict resolution so you can feel more comfortable addressing issues in your life.  Communicating through Conflict and Communicating through Escalated Conflict provide all the skills you need to hone to be effective. Last, but certainly not least is Confidence in Conflict, simply designed to build your confidence.

These courses are one way we can help build some peaceful micro-environments, even when we feel helpless in ending wars.

The UN’s Ten Actions for a Peaceful World: https://www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions-peaceful-world

ADR Learning Institute

Conflict is the pathway to growth and success.  We are committed to providing a supportive learning environment for you to succeed at conflict and negotiation.

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