Reconciliation – The reason I started a blog

My first professional job was for a small business that had a unique product for a niche market. Quality was exceptional, it’s function and design exceeded expectations and it was distributed via a number of outlets. The owners were motivated innovators and customers loved the product.

But there was a problem. They had been without a bookkeeper for several months and, with all the other tasks needed to run a business, accounting slipped by the wayside. Accounts were in dire need of reconciliation, which is what landed me the job. To this day, it is still the most challenging financial reconciliation I’ve completed and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity, as getting through the reconciliation forced me to learn a number of problem solving skills I did not posses when I began.

Much like my first accounting job, our world is in dire need of reconciliation and we are all in need of developing the skills needed to bring peace to our world and our relationships. It seems each day is a new barrage of divisiveness and vitriol published in print, broadcast across our airwaves and beamed directly from satellites into the palm of our hands. Polarization is creating echo-chambers, where we only listen to opinions that we agree with. Most of the time, we ignore opposing points of view, not only because we don’t agree with them, but also because arguments are often presented in a manner that is disrespectful, or worse yet, downright hateful.

We most often think of this divisiveness in terms of politics, but I would argue it also expresses itself in our religion, our family life, even in our personal thoughts and feelings. The word reconciliation is defined as “the restoration of friendly relations” and “the action of making one view or belief compatible with another”. Indeed, we are in need of reconciliation. Our world is in need of reconciliation, both personnaly and societally.

And so, I’ve decided to start a blog that discusses ways we can be reconciled. My aim is to take seemingly in compatible ideas and, through a synthesis of various subjects, demonstrate that some mutually exclusive ideas aren’t so exclusive if we are willing to clean the lenses through which we view the world. I will attempt to resolve paradoxes through changing paradigms, or at least offering a unique perspective. This blog will cover a variety of topics, which reflects the broad interests I have. From politics and economics, to philosophy and religion, to science and psychology, I hope to give you a fresh look at some ancient debates and principles.

As part of the process of reconciliation, not only must both sides of the ledger must be brought into balance, but errors must also be corrected, omissions must be brought to light and items that don’t belong must be removed. To reconcile ourselves to each other, we must share our opinions, the reasons we hold them, and be willing to engage in civil discourse related to our beliefs and assumptions. To this end, some content may reflect issues that I feel have errors that need corrected or omissions that need brought to light.

At a minimum, I hope you will walk away from reading these posts with a broader perspective on why others who disagree with you may not be completely in error, but rather, may perceive some things that you have yet to witness. Perhaps you will gain some new tools to engage with people of differing points of view. At best, maybe you’ll walk away inspired to be reconciled with your brother, your neighbor, or perhaps even your enemy.