In October and November twenty of us gathered, ten in person and ten online, to explore the idea of healing in the midst of this very divided world. Along the way we learned a lot. We learned about our biases, the ones we don’t usually recognize, like how our brain tries to keep us comfortable by keeping out thoughts that disturb us. We also learned about community bias, which is about how deeply we want to stay connected to our community. We subconsciously design a narrative that helps us do that, rather than opening ourselves to people or ideas that might threaten community.

Starting with these ideas was very helpful to each of us. We challenged ourselves, and our thought patterns, looking for our individual areas of bias that might have gotten in the way of healing ourselves and our relationships.

Then we approached the stories – one after another of people who made a choice to say yes to being instruments of healing what divides us. They inspired us, they challenged us, they got us thinking individually and collectively about what we could do personally and in our communities to say yes to healing. To listen differently, to be curious rather than judgmental, to show-up and be present and learn from one another – these were the gifts this book and this book group gave to us.

I’m thankful for the lessons learned along the way and look forward to embracing a new way of being in the world in 2023.