So, there it is.
Purity is one solution to encountering the “other,”
and Tolerance another.
Both are grounded in varying degrees of Power over Love.
Both exact their terrible costs on the oppressed
while diminishing the humanity of the oppressors.

And there is a third possibility,
one that requires a fundamental transformation in
how we see and experience one another,
a transformation based on the understanding that:
the interaction patterns we fall into
shape how we see and experience one another.
What seems to be a real and solid picture of the “other”
is merely the consequence of the pattern we have fallen into.
Change the pattern of interaction
and our experiences of one another will change.
The possibility of Power and Love will emerge.

Barry Oshry
May-June, 2018

Reprinted with Permission. Published in 2018 by: Triarchy Press Axminster, England info@triarchypress.net www.triarchypress.net Copyright © Barry Oshry, 2018 The right of Barry Oshry to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved ISBN: 978-1-911193-48

~~~