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Maybe meditation would help

Today I got into an altercation on social media with a good friend. It was over a political meme she posted that I thought was fake and wanted to point that out. But I did so without empathy for how it would come across. It started a heated exchange that wasn't necessary.

It wasn't intended to be political. In my mind I was acting as a champion for critical thought and skepticism. But it was also because circulating false information raises my temperature and my impulse is to burn it down, often without regard for the relationships I want to respect. Yet that's not historically my normal operating procedure.

This was a profoundly pivotal year for me, but one thing I don't want to change is how I get along with the people I love. The polarization is affecting even me. Most of those who have known me prior to the last few months would have said that I'm not easily given to outbursts of emotional intensity. But I can't tell you how often I've raised my voice in arguments lately.

We're all going to need to unbury our better natures and give them the lead if we want to make any progress in the coming years.