As part of my studies to expand my spiritual and educational life, I attended two workshops this last week. In both workshops, the topic of Collaboration came up.
The definition of Collaboration is as follows: “The act or process of working together or cooperating.” ~ Dictionary.com.
From my perspective, we, as a people, are doing very little to collaborate with each other. Hopefully, in small ways, we work for the good of our families and neighbors. However, when it comes to our country and our world, I see very little collaboration.
Instead, we continue to have the consciousness of Colonization. Since defining colonization is a bit difficult, I will share some examples.
Examples of Colonization
I grew up and went to school in California. As a child, I was taught how the Catholic Missionaries, who settled and ‘tamed’ the Native Americans, built the regional missions and colonized the state! However, when I got older and did some studying on my own, I found that the Native Americans were treated very poorly. They were used as slaves to build the missions, and forced to “repent” and convert to Catholicism!
In more modern times, I found that the same attitude was still prevalent in the Catholic Church. I was taught that the Catholic Church was the one true church that was formed after the teachings of Jesus. Of course, most modern Christian denominations teach something similar. However, once again, we see the arrogant attitude of people who believed that they were emissaries of Jesus to help convert the heathens of the world.
If we study the past, we can see this attitude in the slave traders, right up to the present attitude towards people of color today. No collaboration, just judgment!
Wouldn’t our world be much better if we learned true collaboration with everyone?
I have always believed that everyone has a gift. Assuming this is true, what I can do, my gift, is different from what you do. If we work together, or collaborate, wouldn’t we all benefit?
One teaching that won me over to New Thought (particularly Centers for Spiritual Living) is the organization’s open-mindedness. With all the classes and workshops I have attended, I never once heard the call to evangelize the world. Instead, we are taught to change ourselves and to further embrace the differences we all possess.
I find different people and cultures interesting and worth celebrating.
So how do we learn to collaborate? By listening, really listening to one another and respecting our differences.
I think we can live together in greater peace when we learn to collaborate and appreciate our differences in the world.