Wisdom In A Time of War: How to Apply Discernment for More Peace, Less Stress, Deeper Connections, and More Meaningful Work

“The problem is whether we are determined to go in the direction of compassion or not. If we are, then can we reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.”
― Thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh, Being Peace

The conflicts my friends and their families are navigating in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia makes me reflect on my own family’s discerning choices in wartime. The quote from Thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh centers from his own experience of finding and discerning compassion and direction from pain and suffering, chaos, and pain from the Vietnam-American War. From Hebrew Scriptures and Ignatian Christianity to relationship therapy — discernment is a framework rooted in our human heritage to navigate pivotal junctures and is underutilized in business and personal management. In this month’s newsletter, I’ll walk us through some definitions of discernment, provide a three-step framework, and three examples of how to apply this framework.

Definition: From the Latin word, discernere, meaning to separate, utilizing discernment allows us to step back and take a clear-eyed…