When people work together in a group or a team, is it always considered healthy if they never disagree with one another? Of course, the common wisdom in self-help books is, 'agree to disagree'. I suppose this is a safe way to express disagreement, at least in a way that is respectful of others. But I wonder, is there an expectation that people should always resolve their differences? Or can disagreement open the possibility that people can never fully resolve difference?
I sometimes feel that excessive disagreement can lead to love. Why? It's because disagreement is the most intimate thing, at times. The fact that people can disagree so vehemently about topics or ideologies, for instance, is possibly a sign of deep shared experiences. I even imagine that it took many lifetimes for the disagreement to swell to such a proportion as one sees it now. Does that mean that one should just keep fighting and arguing? I don't think I am arguing for a glorification of disagreement so much as a realization that disagreement can be a sign of a deeply shared connection with someone. When a person focuses on that aspect, the disagreement may start to lose a bit of its edge, and it can yield to harmony. I am talking here about an experience of gratitude: one feels simply grateful to have the opportunity to learn so much about themselves, by virtue of how deeply they react to someone else. Is this kind of disagreement not a rich opportunity to discover one's own tendencies, while practicing a spiritual path?
Perhaps there is a certain joy in knowing that there are people to whom we might be meant to disagree, but that this disagreement can be an opportunity for learning and growth.
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