Thirteen Ways of Looking at Conflict

THIRTEEN WAYS






Let’s face it. People do not visit the Coliseum in Rome just because of the architecture, the antiquity, or the echoes of an ancient empire. Most, if not all people who walk through the ruins want to know, “What about the gladiators?” Did they really fight to the death? Is it true that 10,000 animals were killed on one day?

As a species we are fascinated with conflict and we love competition. You don’t need to look farther than UK BB to observe this. But, as individuals, we understand it and deal with it in myriad ways. At least thirteen, but probably hundreds more

Have you ever tried to read – or write – a story without conflict? (1)Good writers know the conflict can be very subtle, hidden deep within the psyche, but it’s there, somewhere. Otherwise all you have is stream of consciousness or the ramblings of a bore. What is human life without story? Hence… conflict is needed.

There are those who thrive on conflict. Some of them are self-titled anarchists (2) Look at the riots in London. After a few days, people didn’t even know what sparked the initial uprisings. But they were fully engaged in the violence against person and property. When asked, some replied: we are doing it to show that we can. My guess, however, would be that conflict makes them feel alive, vital and engaged. There is all too little in their marginal existence to feed the spirit. So, like the audience for Jerry Springer and WWF, they watch or engage in meaningless conflict for its own sake. That gives them what they sadly lack: a sense of purpose, meaning, joy and engagement with the world. To that extent its not anarchy but pathology (3).

I come from the Philadelphia area. Evidently, people there have gotten in on the British trend by taking part in what are being called “violent flash mobs.” I’m not surprised this took hold in Philadelphia, that erstwhile city of brotherly love. I grew up in a culture where a certain amount of conflict was endemic. Not violence, per se, but disagreement, argument, and expressions of strong emotion. It may have cultural roots in the passionate peoples who settled there or the clashes of immigrant communities. But no one loves a good argument like a New Jersey native. Many of us had to modify our tendencies when we moved South, and discovered that conflict is to be avoided at all costs, including dishonesty and a veneer of politeness. (4)What many Southerners don’t understand is that most Yankees don’t hold grudges for long. We argue and then we go on as friends. It’s these parts where the Hatfields and McCoys kept feuds going for generations!

Some would say there is an evolutionary basis (5)to conflict. Survival of the fittest. I have demonstrated before that there is also a bias in evolution for cooperation. It is probably fair to say that both have their purpose. Some would say, however, that technologically advanced humans have little if any need for conflict; indeed pacifists (6)would counsel that it is only through cooperation and understanding, both individual and collective that we shall save the planet. More and more people are coming to see the truth of that.

But even Gandhi said that principles can sometime trump pacifism.

Rodney King said, in our own West Coast version of the British riots, Why can’t we all just get along? (7)Such a simple question. Yet, so hard to comprehend. And, regardless of whether the reasons are cultural, theological, or biological, it has another part… how can we live so that “getting along” is most likely to occur? What do we need to understand, to do, and how can we do it, before it’s too late?

Scott Peck, in his sequel to The Road Less Traveled, called The Different Drum, asserts that true community (8)is not possible without conflict. All communities evolve through what he calls pseudo-community, then a time of chaos, which is likely to include a degree of conflict, through what he calls emptiness to community. Indeed the number of times we ever experience the miraculous result of this process are precious few. In fact, I am fairly sure that no religious congregation can ever reach and sustain community by his definition. But we can use our experiences of true community to guide us safely through times of chaos and anxiety, knowing that equilibrium will return, that in fact community will be deepened unless people flee back into pseudo-community.

In genuine community there are no sides. … the members have learned to give up cliques and factions. Hey have learned how to listen to each other. Sometimes consensus in community is reached with miraculous rapidity. At other times it is arrived at after lengthy struggle. Just because it is a safe place does not mean community is a place without conflict. It is, however, a place where conflict can be resolved without physical or emotional bloodshed and with wisdom as well as grace. Community is a place where people can fight gracefully. (MSP, 71)

Starhawk would disagree with Peck in at least one particular. For the author of Truth or Dare, community (9) can not be reached in groups that are entirely open. Groups, she says, must have boundaries (not barriers) in order to be truly safe spaces. If no process exists for asking someone to leave a group, what generally happens is that the productive, amiable members all drop out, one by one, the group dissolves, and its tasks remain undone. (150)

Starhawk is an advocate for what she calls creative conflict. Needed for such, besides clear boundaries and a sense of purpose, access to information, trust, and leadership. I’ll talk more about these next week. For now, the goal of creative conflict is to emerge more united, more whole, and more balanced, not to win or destroy the “other.”

The difference between Starhawk’s community and Peck’s is that she is talking about a sustained community where his groups are almost always time-limited.

“Conflict evokes fear,” Starhawk writes. That brings me to a resource I have returned to for at least 20 years, A Course in Miracles. (10)Let me simply read you a few of its maxims which concern conflict:

• “I am never upset for the reason I think.” (WB )

• “I am upset because I see only the past.”

• “I want to see things differently.”

• “I could see peace instead of this.”

• The secret of salvation is this: You are doing this unto yourself. Whatever seems to be the cause of any suffering you feel, this is still true.

• The world but demonstrates an ancient truth: you will believe that others do to you exactly what you think you did to them.

The Course in Miracles is a course in Inner Peace. This points to the inner conflicts that feed group and international fights. It teaches 100% personal responsibility for one’s feelings and reactions. It is a course in overcoming fear. When conflict engenders fear, one needs to see things differently. This requires, for most people, a spiritual awakening and a huge change of heart. Sadly, few humans are willing to do the work that is necessary.

The CIM asks, “Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?”

My guess is that a majority of us would have to answer “right.”



Too often the response to conflict of any kind is what Buddhism calls aversion. (11) What the Buddha was really talking about was, again, biology. It is the amygdyla that evokes the Freeze-Flight-Fight responses that are most common in human conflicts. .

But it need not be so.

Two relatively new schools of thought provide exciting tools and contexts for understanding and managing conflict. First is family systems. (12)Employed regularly now in congregations, Murray Bowen’s family systems work has engendered a school of organizational development that goes beyond Peck’s “fighting gracefully.”

In Family Systems we learn that tension aka anxiety arises between two or more individuals as a result of being alive and in contact. Managing, rather than resolving, conflict is key to congregational life. To the extent that members can manage their anxiety (fear), stay in place (fight gracefully), and recognize differences, conflict can be productive and need not be distressing.

One might even say that feeling anxious is not only chronic but an inevitable condition of being alive. (scale of differentiation 1-100%)



Yes, there are methods and techniques to both prevent and minimize destructive conflict. They should be tried as a matter of

course. However, to the extent they fail to address the underlying anxiety within the

relationship, no real change will occur. Effective conflict management will note that

issues are issues to people who are in relationship. Both the content of our disputes

and how we feel toward one another must be considered. Otherwise, the chairs may

move efficiently around the emotional deck while the ship continues on its unhappy

course. It’s akin to saying that the problem of children playing with matches can be

resolved by not having matches around; sooner or later, the kids will discover butane

lighters and burn the house down.



Appreciative Inquiry (13) is both like and unlike Family Systems. “AI” which was originally conceived and formulated for organizational development in the business world, does away with the Newtonian view that still dominates Family Systems. It relies upon chaos theory and quantum science to assert that order lies naturally beyond what may appear to be conflict. But, much like Family Systems and many other schools of conflict management, AI would counsel thinking, taking a larger view (cim: above the battleground), or looking beyond the “things” to the processes that created them.

This view is closest to my own, although I incorporate many facets of those I shared today and others I did touch upon: But, process theology, as well as appreciative inquiry, counsel trust, faith, joy, and patience.

(MW, )

This shift in orientation requires learning to live in a process world. Life demands that I participate with things as they unfold, expect to be surprised, to honor the mystery of it, and to see what emerges. As we learn to live in this process world, we are rewarded with changes in our behavior. I believe we become gentler people. We become more curious about differences, more respectful of one another, more open to life’s surprises. It’s not that we become more hopeful OR pessimistic, but we do become more patient and accepting. I like to believe we change in this way because we are willing to move into the dance. Although it looked frantic from the outside, …. Life is a good partner. Its demands are not unreasonable. A great capacity for change lies in every one of us.” (155)

ARTS of ITALY ~~ a UU Perspective

"For us to go to Italy and to penetrate into Italy is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery, back, back down the old ways of time. Strange and wonderful chords awake in us, and vibrate again after many hundreds of years of complete forgetfulness." --D.H. Lawrence


PART I Paganism

I love to contemplate and learn about art, and I knew that going to Rome, Siena, and Florence would be rare opportunties to see some of the world's finest art...

Still, I must admit that I was far more excited about the week we would spend in Tuscany, studying the literary arts and the art of organic farming and sustainable living than I was about traipsing through what I knew would be hot, crowded and busy Rome and Florence at the height of the tourist season.

My ideas about Italy were a mixture of memories from High School Latin; the neuroses of Catholic boys; the Mafia rumors of my peers; and lots of stereotypes that I'd better not mention.

I was pleasantly surprised! My spirit as well as my intellect and my senses were fed by the arts of Italy. In fact, I was particularly intrigued at how many points of intersection there are between these paintings, sculptures, and buildings and UU philosophies. Here's a tiny glimpse of how one Unitarian, non-educated in art history, found meaning in the great arts:

"Grandeur was important to the Romans because of their strong sense of history and their unique and important place in it. They were anxious to leave a record of themselves... (a) search for immortality through mortar and stone..." Cole, 26

I thought I would be horrified by the Coliseum and the remnants of brutality it always represented for me. Instead, I was able to appreciate the massive antiquity for its architechtural genius, the use of arches and concrete to construct a massive amphitheatre that has not only survived nearly two thousand years, but has many similarities to today's arenas where humans still crave competition and conflict.

The words of the Venerable Bede came back to me with renewed impact: While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand. When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall. And when Rome falls, the world. One wonders, and marvels.
Likewise, arches which were built to commemorate victories had no practical purpose at all. Most were not even built over roads. Called triumphal arches, they have served their somewhat vainglorious purpose, for they still stand as advertisements of ancient prowess.

These were pagan structures, earth-bound and filled with stories, myth, and conflict. The arts were about to change dramatically.

PART II

Christianity

"The Vatican is a dagger in the heart of Italy." Thomas Paine

Here is where my bias became fully evident. I was resistant to the glorification of the Popes, the rape of the antiquities to create the vatican ("What the barbarians did not take, the Barbarinis did...") and the general trends I associate with Roman Catholicism. I'll admit that I entered the first few cathedrals and especially the Vatican with a juandiced eye!

During the Dark Ages and until the Renaissance, many ancient works were destroyed, and attention turned from earth and human affairs toward heaven. It was the start of the building of the great cathedrals.

If you ever get to visit Italy, skip Florence if you must but do not skip Siena. I reaquainted myself with the Italian origins of Unitarian thought after returning home, and learned that both Socinus and Ochino, some of those who brought the roots of anti-Trinitarianism to eastern Europe, along with Gribaldi, Pucci, and Biandrata ("ecclestiastical wire-puller in the interest of heterodoxy") whence it ultimately was the basis for Unitarian churches in Transylvania.

Siena is the home of this magnificent cathedral, which represents the shift back toward the celebration of nature (also found in the writings of St. Francis of Assisi) and individual humanity, as well as the "human side of divinity," all considered to be emerging "from a long sleep of anonymity" as the 13th century dawned.

PART III

Humanism

"It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh." Vasari , of the Pieta.

By the full flowering of the Renaissance, associated perhaps most widely with Michelangelo, Humanism was again the dominant theme.

Yes, the works of art were commissioned by wealthy patrons and often by Popes, so the subject matter was controlled, yet within the confines of their assignments, the artists moved decisively toward humanization and naturalism.

The School of Athens (Raphael) could depict philosophers Plato and Aristotle (also Socrates, Pythagoras and Euclid) engaged in philosophical debate in front of one of the Roman baths as a fresco on the wall of the Pope's apartments; Boticelli could paint a nude and sensuous Venus for the Medici family; and Michelangelo could banish even the Pope from the Sistine chapel when he painted his celing for four years.

This new, "secular" spirit was epitomized by the essay on the dignity of man written by Mirandola at the end of the 15th c, in which "man is portrayed as the molder of himself, who, through his own efforts and self-improvement, could become divine -- a radical and revitalizing departure from midieval thought, in which God controlled everything, including human desinty." (Cole, 90)

But I was most moved by two of Michelangelo's masterpieces, The Pieta and the David. I could never have been prepared for the emotional impact these works would have on me. And it was not their religious significance, but their humanistic message that moved me to tears. Mary cradling her grown son became evry mother whose child's death precedes hers, and David... is the essence of nobility and near-perfection, yet still flawed, still with the spark of human fallibility.

Italy is filled with paradox, complex and as multi-faceted as a stained glass window, its layers of meaning as thick as the layers of archeological remnants that dot its cities, its contradictions as puzzling as the tension between faith and science, both of which it excels in.

But at its core there is a love of life, a carpe diem thread that celebrates the now, the good, the beautiful and the sweetness of existence.

HAITI: Reflections

This homily was given by Marie Conger on July 17th 2011.




Bonjour.  Mwen content way-oo--- Mwen relay Marie.  Mwen visite Haiti en juin et Fuk retourner encore.  Mwen rencontrais ampil haitiens:  Kek bon et keke mal.  Mwen voyait ampil choses kek bon et kek mal.  Mwen content entrer ici.
Hello,  it’s nice to see you--my name is Marie.    I visited Haiti in June and I need to go back again.  I met a lot of Haitians both good and bad.  I saw a lot of things both good and bad.  It’s good to be here.

  *As a member of the Haitian Network of the Bluegrass---I was invited to be part of a small group to visit Haiti in June.   Our sgroup of 5 planned to work together to distribute clothes, shoes and school supplies.  Each of us also had our own personal “mission” and agreed to help each other to realize them.
*Molly and Steve (the HNB Leader and spouse) had a personal project of caring for an orphanage in Port au Prince.  They spent the last year sending money every month to build and maintain this facility.  They also have a connection to a sweet boy, Jean-Paul, who they brought to this orphanage last year—(his mother was killed in the quake).  They would like to adopt him but have met with obstacles so far.   --They were anxious to see how the orphanage –and Jean-Paul --was developing.
Molly also continues to aid her uncle and his family in Port de Paix.  Pastor Dervil leads a small church on a mountainside outside of Port de Paix.  Uncle Dervil is committed to his congregation and is the only member of Molly’s parent’s families to remain in Haiti.  Molly and Steve have helped them in many ways over the last 2 years.  Port de Paix is where we were to do most of our work.
*Clydia travelled to Haiti a year ago.  Her mission since then has been to collect shoes and clothes and raise money for Kreyol Bibles.  She also wanted to do VBS for the kids.  Clydia is a very fundamental, passionate Christian with a heart of gold.
*Dale is a factory employee and pastor of a Georgetown church who felt called to spread Gods word through Bible study and church services.  Dale had never travelled out of the country.
*As many of you already know, my own personal mission included making educational connections, satisfying my Geek-fancophile curiosity about Haitian culture and distributing solar lights.


I’d like to share a highlight video that Bobby Jones edited for me.  …………………………………….

Haiti trip 2011

View more presentations from Cynthia Cain

Processing my experience has been very difficult.  Was it “successful”?  Yes.  We accomplished what we as a group, and as individuals, set out to accomplish.  It was merely a drop in the bucket, and a leaky bucket at that--- but even that should be enough, right?  Not really.  My opening statement about meeting both good and bad Haitians and seeing good and bad things, was an intro into what I want to share with you.  The contrasts, and opposites, that I witnessed were striking and seem to be what keeps my recounting of the experience conflicted ---and incoherent.  I believe what I observed was representative of the best, and worst, of humanity.

*The trip began in Port au Prince where we flew in and out with 100s of other well-intentioned people (from the US and elsewhere).  When we arrived, Molly had already been in country for a week and was heartbroken.  She had found that the  caretaker of the  Port au Prince orphanage and school, Pastor Achetul, was a dishonest “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.  The children got little benefit from Molly and Steve’s monthly money---but the pastor's church was rebuilding nicely.  The school had nothing more than it did last year ----in fact there is no "school" as we would define it; this "school" consists simply of an area of dirt floor with some ragged tarps overhead to provide some small protection from a relentless tropical sun. This "school"-just an area really- sat next to that same church that was rebuilding nicely.   Little Jean-Paul had ringworm like the other children and like the other children was barely clothed and was malnourished.  Molly had realized before we arrived that she was going to have to take Jean-Paul away and cut all ties with this pastor.  We took Jean-Paul with us, the next day, when we headed to Port de Paix.

*Everywhere we went we found that, even this long after the earthquake, the streets are in most places still choked with rubble on top of rubble-much of the debris from the quake has not been removed, but rather just pushed out of the way to allow traffic to get through as best it can. Often it is like negotiating an obstacle course.  These streets are filled with both the naked and the extremely clean and well dressed.  Our hotel was a beautiful little hide-away in the middle of absolute chaos.

*Port de Paix is a city 90 miles north of PaP.  It was hurt very little by the earthquake although they did feel an influx of people fleeing PaP after the quake.   PdP is essentially a 3rd (or even 4th world) city----Extremely primitive and far behind the rest of the modern world but in other ways, they are modern---using Cell Phones and Facebook to communicate.  The absence of a reliable energy source and the brutal elements keep them so far behind that it is hard to imagine they can ever catch up.



*Molly’s Uncle Duval is the antithesis of the PaP pastor.  He is a gentle, honest, god-loving, man.  His wife and children were happy to see us and introduced us to his congregation on the mountainside.  Our distribution of clothes, shoes and school supplies was met with smiles and gratitude.
I met with our school connection where, almost immediately, I came under a verbal attack from the director, demanding money.  It seems the only help wanted is cash—and they see a white American teacher as a source.  After a lot of back and forth, the director allowed the teacher to answer my questions about HIS needs as a teacher re: resources and development.
*Supplies were not appreciated at this school where they insisted that they would take them and distribute to the students at a later time (Uncle let us know they would more than likely end up in the black market).  We insisted ---either we gave them directly to the children or we took them elsewhere.  ---Very unpleasant experience for me but the group said the children were very happy with the supplies.
Conversely a church/school that we dropped in on unexpectedly greeted us with singing, asked us to speak and gratefully encouraged us to put something in EVERY child’s hands.

As a UU, I witnessed the BEST and WORST in religion.
*The faith of many Haitian People is what gives them hope and purpose to survive.  Being in that tiny church on the mountainside was a heart-warming  experience and I could feel that their love of god sustains them.  Seeing the joy on their faces as they received Clydia’s Kreyol Bibles was incredible.  They believe.
*In Uncle/Pastor Duval’s church,  Dale led his Men’s Bible study and I helped Clydia with Vacation Bible School.  The people, and their practices, were so earnest and true---Their reaction to us was so sweet and lovely.  
*At our hotel, I was honored to be allowed to slip into a Haitian late-night church service being held in the dining area.  There was  hymn-singing and praying and then dinner was served at midnight!  Up until that point the service was much like an american gospel service might be ---with dancing and singing; a pastor and his deacons leading it.  After dinner it started up again and we were asked to join the circle (up to that point, we were on the fringe just observing).  Again, I felt honored as we were outsiders and I the only  “Blanche”, or “White”  in the room.  But then things took a turn…if you don’t know it, catholicism is considered the state religion but years ago it was mixed with the old Haitian voudun/voudou practices.

The pastor started speaking in tongues (his deacon translating in Kreyol), the dancing stepped up a notch or two as did the volume.  Then two girls supposedly possessed of evil spirits were brought in the circle.  They fell on the floor, were anointed with oil, touched by many hands, held down.  They screamed, fought their handlers and tried to run away.  One of the girls seemed to be free of her demons but the other was not.  That was when I left as I was overwhelmed by an uneasy feeling.  I looked at Dale who appeared to be feeling the same and we agreed to leave.
I knew that corruption has plagued Haiti forever, but didn’t know how that might be within the church.  I couldn’t believe the outright deceit displayed by Pastor Achetul in Port au Prince who slipped when he told Molly when she asked about the daily lives of the orphans “Lets wait til the Americans get here and we’ll set things up to look like the children are studying…”
Finally, as a UU, you can imagine how travelling with 2 American Baptist Pastors would be like.  I used it to my advantage by using it to practice patience, tolerance and biting—I mean holding my tongue.

*The cityscapes and countryside revealed just as many contrasts….in my eyes, the city of PaP is beyond repair.  Port de Paix is a city that seems to be moving forward – in 3rd world terms—but with no infrastructure, no systems, no real law and order---it is trashy, smelly, noisy, chaotic and ugly.  BUT…roads are being widened and improved as new hotels are being built, with their own generators as well as solar panels and wind turbines.  But electricity is SO valuable (and gas so expensive) that at our hotel,  guests only have it from 8p-6a.
*You might have noticed on the video beautiful countryside and a stunning beach.  Some UN workers (who I thought were the good guys but many Haitians see as the bad guys) told us that Nouveau Kiskeya (New Haiti) was a must-see and after the long bumpy drive and getting stuck twice in mud and sand,  I believe they were right.  It was truly beautiful…everything that Pap and PdP were not:  lush, clean, sweet smelling, pristine---the water was clear and the beach was clean.  There were manicured gardens and beautiful buildings of tile and concrete.  This is a planned community for retired Haitians living abroad and tourists being built on 11,000 acres with 15 miles of beach front---building their own airstrip and port for cruise ships.  A NEW Haiti---and like other planned resort areas in the carribean, an economic boon for the country.  It all seemed wonderful until I asked about the plans for the workers and those plans didn’t seem as clear or well thought out.  Much less space and development is slated for that community ---so as I fast-forwarded…I saw yet another contrast:  an overpopulated, undeveloped slum on the outskirts of New Kiskeya.
*So what can I learn from this experience in contrasts?  And what might you take from this reflection?  I really should not have been surprised by the dualities --- It is by seeing, experiencing and appreciating ugliness that we can see and appreciate beauty.  A positive is only positive in the face of a negative.   Opposites and dualities create the fabric of the world and we see our lives, and the lives of those around us, in that fabric.  It is our experience of these opposites and these dualities which color and move the threads of our lives.
There are always opposites at play in our life and what can we do to achieve peace of mind during this war of opposites and dualities? Peace of mind doesn’t come only as we experience the so called good side of the opposites or dualities. It weathers the storms of life.   When what we do not want to happen begins to occur... the magic opposing it begins to work as well.
There is always another sunrise to counter act the sunset. The light will always follow the darkness and the day the night.  There is always another hope when all hope has failed us.  I’m going to remember this the next time I come to the end of my rope and can see no way out.
I found an appropriate quote by one of our favorite UU Ministers:
“We do not live an equal life, but one of contrasts and patchwork; now a little joy, then a sorrow, now a sin, then a generous or brave action”.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Or take away this:  My efforts were a drop in the bucket (but in the words of KY songwriter, Mitch Barrett “What becomes a mighty ocean started as a drop”.)  Thanks to those of you who made contributions of money and supplies to the HNB.  Many people benefitted.  And thanks to all of you who gave money for my purchase of the solar lights.  I knew they were special---I’m only now realizing how so.
I’m very pleased to report to you that Molly and I had an epiphany that perhaps these bulbs could not only provide light to the families  we worked with but that they might represent a way out of Haiti’s misery---Molly has approached her employer, Sylvania and it’s parent company Seimans about the bulbs and the possibility of building a Haitian community around their production and distribution.  Guess what, they love it!!  I would love to share more of that story with anyone interested!

Drop in the Bucket.  (Mitch Barrett)
It’s a crazy world we live in, Bad news all around
Brothers and sisters, if we’re gonna make a difference
We’re gonna have to stand our ground.
Be a drop in the bucket
And a bucket in the pond
And the pond fills the river
And the river rushes on
And the river swells the river
‘Til the power can’t be stopped
What becomes a mighty ocean
Started as a drop


Comments about the Solar Light Bulbs  from Pastor Duval:
Amazing..at church,   before, they would take offering for money to buy gas…in generator for evening service—it was never enough—they ended up finishing the service in darkness.
Now they don’t have to buy gas to run generator for light
People would come and bring cell phones to charge off the generator—using gas.  Now that’s not an option!
Caused a problem because those who didn’t pay for the gas would use electricity
People are coming to the church and praising god and giving thanks for the missionaries who brought the lights and praying for a return visit.  They are so happy that they don’t have to buy gas for their lanterns at home.

Pal franse pa di lespri pou sa.
Speaking French doesn't mean you are smart.
Famn se kajou. plis li vye, plis li bon.
Woman is like mahogany, the older the better.
Men anpil chay pa lou.
Many hands make the load lighter.