Seek First

Unless you're leaving under a proverbial rock, you know that yesterday was a much anticipated midterm election. Tempers all round have been running high, and I am already seeing candidates and politicians playing the game of blaming voters rather than reflecting on their own shortcomings.

I have long been a fan of the writer and journalist Matt Taibbi, and in his book, Hate Inc., he posits that the mainstream media has sought to divide and conquer the American public. If we're all seeing each other as the enemy rather than coming together to find common ground and truly demand better than the politics we currently have, we'll,then that makes their jobs easier. We're more likely to keep tuning in and turning on each other.

A long time ago, I heard the phrase “seek first to understand,” and it is so relevant to this present moment. The following poem is inspired by that line and this post election mood.

Seek First

Seek first to understand/seek first to listen/as if the words stick in your throat like peanut butter/seek first to find moments/when you can mutter "me, too"/seek first to set aside your armor/and to help your neighbor take theirs off too/seek first to hold the door open/to find an open seat at the table/to break bread/to turn off the damn noise/seek first to put your hand over your heart/see where it takes you.