MARRIAGE MASTERY Tip 6: From MLK, Jr: See the Other's Point of View

MLK-in-Birmingham-jail
MLK-in-Birmingham-jail

Consider these words from Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967) the next time you engage in conflict with your partner and you perceive them as the enemy:

"Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from this view we many indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition."

Let us honor these words not only for their historical significance. Let us also honor them in our very personal creation of peace in our up-close and personal relationships today. Peace, my friends, is a practice, not a wish.