Seven Grandfather Teachings – Conflict Resolution
(Northeast Mental Health centre, Mental Health Development Initiative (1999), Conflict management,
Mediation & Problem Solving: A Training and Reference Guide for Management)
Love
To know LOVE is to know peace. Love is an acceptance of others, a willingness to work with
others to achieve and maintain a balanced relationship. It is about empathy and understanding,
tolerance and openness. But it is not about an unconditional acceptance of the actions of others;
it is caring for others and promoting harmony among people that helps us to confront those
behaviours and participate in their changes.
Respect
To honour all of Creator’s children is to have RESPECT. Respect is a similar process of
acceptance recognizing that we have an obligation to treat others with respect – to be open with
them, to treat them politely, to ask their opinion and consider it, to allow them to speak without
interruptions, top refrain from speaking badly of them, and to allow them – when they must – to
make their own decisions and find their own answers.
Humility
HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creator. Humility is an understanding
that no one is more important than anyone else, that every person has value and gifts to offer,
that while we can assist and support others (our humility recognizes that they know what is best
for them than we know what is best for them). It teaches us to seek to understand before we seek
to be understood, and that we do not judge others.
Honesty
HONESTY in facing a situation is to be brave. Honesty means that we speak openly and
candidly to others, not hiding our messages, but offering them at their request, our points of view
and our suggestions. Honesty means that we so what we say and say what we mean and that we
expect the same from those around us. It means that we answer reasonable questions with
truthful statements, fully responding.
Bravery
BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity, Bravery means that we do not hide from or avoid
what lies in front of us. It is an understanding that not everything that is faced can be changed,
but that nothing can be changed until it is faced. It means that we may hear things about
ourselves that we do not like and may have to acknowledge our own limitations, but to fail to do
so limits our growth. It means that we may have to say things that may be critical of others, but
that we do so with the goal of accomplishing a peaceful resolution, we must be brave enough to
do so.
Wisdom
To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM. Wisdom is the knowledge that we acquire about
achieving balance in our lives, our work, our relationships and community. It is the use of our
knowledge to help others and ourselves to be open and honest, to accept the need for change and
to make those changes that we must; part of this knowledge is how to use conflict in life to
achieve desired outcomes.
Truth
TRUTH is to know all of these things. Truth is know these teachings are a foundation of balance
and health and the willingness to practice them in daily living.