What does it mean to intentionally engage with people or groups of people who hold different perspectives, values, or identities than ourselves? 

Intention refers to a deliberate or purposeful decision or mindset to move towards a specific goal or way of being. It involves a commitment to align your actions with your desired, typically value-based, outcome. The decision to open to understanding across experiences must come from an authentic place within us and intersect with what we care most about. It can be helpful to deepen our understanding of how our individual wellbeing may benefit from such an undertaking and how it ultimately connects to our guiding principles:

When we move towards connecting across experiences, we cultivate the capacity to: 

1. Build personal resilience. Empathy, the ability to cultivate non-judgment and compassion, lies at the heart of connection. When we practice empathizing with others who share experiences outside our own (not passively/resignedly accepting different worldviews but acknowledging their reality with greater clarity), we challenge our own assumptions, encourage critical thinking, and build the strength it takes to see situations from different angles. This in turn can help us add innovative resources to our toolkit that enable us to face new and emerging challenges in our personal lives with confidence.

2. Bring greater clarity to societal challenges. Our ability to address societal challenges relies on how well we engage with worldviews that differ from our own. Particularly around the understanding and discussing of such viewpoints. Opening to different perspectives, while understandably difficult, doesn’t mean you have to accept harmful viewpoints, it’s more about engaging in critical engagement.  When we are able to tap into this, personal stress around these events can be reduced by the cultivation of empathy. We may even be able to comprehend our deep connectedness on the basis of our common humanity (and suffering), in spite of vastly differing views. Try this “Just Like Me” practice to tap into the interconnectedness we share with all human beings.

When we choose to engage across all experiences with a sense of curiosity and openness, we can build stronger, more innovative communities. We can promote more opportunities for belonging and connectedness. Dartmouth Dialogues, one of President Sian Beilock’s five key areas of focus, represents one way that our institution is committing to bridging personal and political divides.

It has never been a more critical time for us to recognize the challenges that our community (and world) face when we remain unwilling to engage with differing perspectives and experiences. Similarly, it has never been more important to realize how surmountable these challenges can be and how they stand to benefit our holistic sense of well being. Through intentionality, we can think about what might help us connect authentically with others and contribute to a more inclusive community. When we open to shared understanding together, we commit to building upon our collective humanity for the sake of our common benefit.