Islands of Hope: How to Be a Unifier When the World is Going Nova

Moving Past Polarized Extremes to Build Bridges with Curiosity

Being a unifier in a divisive - and divided - world is a revolutionary act. It is also an act that exemplifies one of the core lessons of the Tree of Life: the desperate need for the Middle Pillar.

Today, we’re living in a society that’s so polarized it bears no resemblance to a "United" anything. One side throws a punch, the other reacts and goes bigger to make their point. The first side gets triggered, escalates, and goes even bigger to prove they’re right. It’s like two suns going nova in way too close proximity - it puts every living being in danger. And yet, in the midst of this explosive drama, there are islands of hope. There are people quietly stepping into the chasm to bring seeming "enemies" together for a common, compassionate goal.

The Wildlife Rehabber Choosing Education Over Anger

My favorite example of this is Jane Newhouse and her team at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue. Wildlife rehabbers often have to deal with animal control officers, “pest control” companies and members of the community who don’t understand what they do or see no value in the wild lives they’re dedicated to protecting and saving. It’s a tough space to exist and many rehabbers, understandably, respond with anger, defensiveness, or burn out.

Jane. Jane’s different. She responds by stepping into that chasm and educating. I’ve been privileged to watch and cheer her on from my Illinois-based sidelines while she’s been at the heart of grassroots efforts to ban second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. These chemicals work by thinning the blood, meaning they are slow-acting. Not only do the smaller targeted animals suffer, they become easy prey for predators further up the food chain—who are then poisoned by that very same legacy.

She’s educated legislators, pest-control companies, and towns. Because of her education efforts, these are now heavily restricted in MA and banned in several towns across the state.

And she doesn’t stop there! She’s brought together animal control officers who are often the first responders to "nuisance” animal calls. Where once they might’ve euthanized or trapped or done something else less-ideal, they now know what to look for, what Jane and her team do, and when to call them in.

Different Missions, Identical Root Systems

I could go on for days about how beautifully she navigates the chaotic, often tense intersection of human encroachment and wild nature because I’m a little in awe of her. Mostly because I’d love to do what she does and also know I’m not wired for it. The politics, the icky and sad…that’s not my space. I’m beyond grateful it’s Jane’s and frequently donate to Newhouse as part of my 10% of profits to charity pledge.

My space? That’s stepping into the fracture left behind by rigid institutions, tending to the people who have been compromised or hurt by them, and helping them find their way back to a natural, grounded, and wild connection with something real, something healing, something that gives them a sense of awe and communion with Nature and the Divine in all forms, by any name.

What we have in common is that we’re unifiers in an increasingly divided world. We’re revolutionary that way. And what both do takes a massive amount of courage and fierce, unyielding love - for Nature, for humanity, for G-d by any name.

Different missions - she’s healing the physical wild, and I’m healing the human spirit - identical root systems. We’re both acting as stewards for a deeper connection to life, standing up against the "poison" of a disconnected world, and doing the heavy, unglamorous, grassroots work to build a bridge back to what is real.

And here’s the thing - you can be a unifier, too! You don’t need to do it on a big, visible scale like Jane, or start a business like me. You can do it on a smaller scale. By being a unifier in your family, your workplace, or your community. 

The Practical Steps to Finding Common Ground

It starts with finding common ground. 

I’m not saying to put your feelings aside. You can’t and shouldn’t. Sit with it when you feel triggered. Try to find the root of it. 

Then, approach the situation with curiosity. "Help me understand how you arrived at that perspective?" or "What’s the story behind that belief for you?" See where the conversation flows from there.

I’m not saying it will always work. It won’t. 

I am saying that even trying is a revolutionary act. It is the literal work of shifting balance back to the center of the Tree  - moving us away from the extremes of raw contraction or unchecked mercy, and moving us toward the Middle Pillar. That’s where we build a sacred container space where everyone - of any species, race, background, or identity - can be held with respect.

Jane’s doing this by healing the physical wild. I’m doing this by healing the human spirit. 

Where is the fracture in your world that’s waiting for you to step in? 

You don't need a massive platform or a business to be a unifier. 

You need the courage to stop the escalation and tend the center. Start small, look for the root, and start today.