The Gray Area

How to see both sides of the coin... and what it's made of, too.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to bring to light the many beautiful differences in the world that don’t need to be stigmatized, polarized, and divisive.

Everything in life is a spectrum. It isn’t simply black or white, zeros or ones.

Diverse thought is at the core of all major conflicts from politics to business competition to philosophy and religion. It’s part of being human. But does it need to often come to conflict at all?

Why do we so often run into topics that can’t be discussed, from politics to religion, data to borders.

How can we bring ourselves to have a productive dialogue? To listen and truly hear each other at deeper levels than superficial debate. Then just call and response. To truly respond and not react.

I would love to see more love. More acceptance. More coming together. More Kumbaya. More gathering places online and offline that allow us to share our fears, values, stories and bring us to a place of empathy, compassion, and understanding. To be vulnerable.

So how do we do that? I think it starts with a quest for knowledge. Learning the points of view beyond just the polar opposites. Finding the language to best communicate how you feel. And that’s my goal with this newsletter. I want to share the stories, methods, and ways to come together, to talk, and to understand.

Welcome to the pre-dialogue. I’m here to help you build the bridge and the bonds. To show the spectrum of ideas in some of the most divided arenas.

My goal with each letter in this series is to encourage a deeper understanding of each other and the planet by releasing our perceptions towards open-mindedness.

Come join me. Let’s read between the lines together.

With love,

Tristan

PS — if there’s a specific topic you are trying to understand better or communicate with someone about, share it in the comments below and I’ll get to it sooner.