Harmony

I am sorrowful even unto death, just trying to understand the terrible sorrow of Our Blessed Lord…

True Fasting (Unknown)

I have been thinking about negotiations.

There are of course, negotiations in business and commerce, where people come to an agreement on terms that ensure that both parties to the negotiation are able to generate the highest possible good for themselves and for the other.

There are whole mathematical and economic theories based around negotiations.  Most famously, “Game Theory” is the economic theory developed by the mathematician, Professor John Nash in the 1950s, which says that the greatest good occurs when each party negotiates to obtain the highest good for themselves and for the group as well.

The interesting thing about “game theory” and other theories of negotiation, is that they apply across all areas of life.  For example, if I wish to negotiate with my child so that they will get ready for school, the same theory applies.  We need to come to some sort of understanding and reach some common ground to make a decision that is mutually beneficial.  For example, I benefit by having my child arrive at school on time.  And he benefits by arriving at school ready for his education…

And I have been thinking about this negotiation today.  For it seems to me that the more time I spend in negotiation with people the more I understand how to live in harmony with my fellow men…

Saint Josemaria said, “You have to live in harmony with your fellow men and understand them.”

There is such a revolution in the nature of the concept of negotiation.  It seems that if people negotiate from a position of love, then they will be able to impress upon each other that they negotiation will be for the GOOD…  And there is something of the Divine in a negotiation like that…  Because it is not my own self-interests that I am seeking to protect, but the interests of my neighbour…

Saint Josemaria wrote in “Friends of God” at page 225-226, “The principal apostolate we Christians must carry out in the world, and the best witness we can give of our faith, is to help bring about a climate of genuine charity within the Church. For who indeed could feel attracted to the Gospel if those who say they preach the Good News do not really love one another, but spend their time attacking one another, spreading slander and quarrelling?”

And I have been reflecting on that today.  For a true negotiation – in the Christian spirit of love – is a negotiation that allows the individual to understand the other and in understanding them, to work harmoniously with them to achieve results that will cause them to become better.

And it occurs to me in a negotiation like that, that we are more than brothers – we are parents of each other.  For it is only as a parent (considering their best interests ahead of my own) that I can uphold the needs of my neighbour in the way that I need to live harmoniously with them.

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.