Confilct Resolution

There were many good points to this week's lecture but, I think the most novel thing I learned was that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. There indeed does need to be "opposition in all things." Without opposition no one could progress and think on their own. If everyone was always in agreement then the world then the earth would be the flat center of the universe, no one could fly, there would be no heroes and villains (there goes our entertainment) and the this wold would just be a boring place. We need different opinions and people to put them forth. The important thing in conflict resolution is not to dissolve it, but to make it productive rather than destructive after all this is called "conflict resolution" not "conflict elimination." Conflict is what enables us to make choices, to use the agency God has given us.
Conflicts can be small and easily resolved between the parties involved or large aggressive things that need a mediator or some other form of help to over come. An example of a small conflict that I saw this week involved a couple of my roommates and me. I wanted to read one night and a few of my roommates wanted to watch TV. Both reading and watching a good show are good things to do yet there was a conflict of interests. It was hard for me to read with the TV on and there were no quiet places in our apartment to go. Even the lobby was noisily occupied. To resolve the conflict I asked them if they could turn the volume down some so that it would be easier to read. This doesn't seem like a big deal and it wasn't. I realized that they had been waiting all week for this show and they knew how much I love to read and how involved I get in my books. We both ended up getting what we wanted because we understood each other. Imagine if I had just walked in and turned off the TV. I guarantee the out come would not have been pleasant and in the end at least one of us would have lost what we had been trying to attain.
I spotted many similar small conflicts this week that were readily resolved with talking it out and understanding each other. I did not see any real large conflicts, of which I am glad. These are much less common than the day-to-day differences between people. It is always best to try to solve the smaller conflicts before they become larger. I think large conflicts mainly arise when small things are ignored and build up rather than being resolved while they are sill manageable. It is like a snowball rolling down a mountain or a hill. It starts off small and grows as grivity pulls it down and more begins to stick to it. The larger it becomes the harder it is to stop the momentum and the more surface area there is for more snow to stick to. Like being caught in a rut, there comes a point where it is just easier to stay in the deepening whole than to try to find a way out. That is why it is so important to resolve conflicts as soon as possible.
I honestly believe that listening and trying to understand each other is the best way to resolve conflicts. If we sincerely try to help each other and not be concerned with only ourselves then we will all be better off.