The Circle of Reconciliation

I have a rather simple proposal to make this evening. Reconciliation is, at essence, a circular not a linear process.

While simple on the surface, the shift in metaphor requires us to rethink much of what we programmatically endeavor to take up, both in terms of research and practice of reconciliation. Lakoff and George (1992) suggested some years ago that we “live by metaphors.” The shift I wish to explore this evening is to move our image of reconciliation from that of a straight staircase leading from one floor to next, or a light beam shining from one point to the next, to that of sound that penetrates, envelopes, and surrounds us. Such a shift will take us away from the too commonly accepted and too seldom questioned sequential understanding of time and social change and will plant us squarely before the proposition that reconciliation processes are circular, nonlinear, multidimensional, multidirectional, and polychromic in nature…