Most people want the same thing: health, prosperity, good relationships, and a society that nourishes instead of divides. So why do we end up in conflict?

David B. Ostler — retired business executive and author of Healing Our Divides — has lived across continents and seen this truth firsthand. In this conversation, David shares the practical tools he developed for navigating deep disagreements: cognitive empathy, recognizing our own biases, and the radical act of humanizing people instead of labeling them.

Whether it's your family, your neighbors, or people with wildly different worldviews, David's approach is simple: start close to home. Do the work in the relationships that matter most. Choose your media wisely. And remember that most people are genuinely seeking goodness — they're just coming from different places. This is a conversation about seeing the person, not the position; about why jigsaw puzzles make good gathering places; and about why peacemaking doesn't require you to be an expert, just willing to try.

We cover cognitive empathy, humanizing people instead of labeling them, recognizing our own biases, finding common ground, building relationships across differences, and listening to understand.

Find Healing Our Divides by David B. Ostler at gregkofford.com.

All Peacemakers Needed spreads everyday peacemaking one conversation at a time. Learn more and become a peacemaker at allpeacemakersneeded.com