Thecourts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputesbegins. They should be the places where the disputes end after alternativemethods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried.
In oneof our concert grand pianos, 243 taut strings exert a pull of 40,000 poundson an iron frame. It is proof that out of great tension may come great harmony.
Undernormal conditions, most people tend to see what they want to see, hear what theywant to hear, and do what they want to do; in conflicts, their positionsbecome even more rigid and fixed.
It ishard to change our point of view in a conflict. Most often, it is because weare not nearly as interested in resolving the conflict and possibly creatinga new ‘pearl’ as we are in being right.
In aconflict, being willing to change allows you to move from a point of view toa viewing point a higher, moreexpansive place, from which you can see both sides.
Conflictis the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. Itinstigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplikepassivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.
