On Facebook I glanced at the trending news including the horrid account of how a man was dragged bleeding off a United Airlines aircraft when he refused to voluntarily give up his seat to a crew member en route to another flight. You know the gory details. Tens of millions of people have posted and tweeted about it, nearly all aghast that the airline would resort to violent assault on a paying passenger.

Just below that story was the news that Pope Francis has instituted a free laundromat in the Vatican for public use by homeless people in Rome. The Pope also renounced a fund to improve his living quarters in favor of providing public showers for the poor.

I was stunned by the contrast between these two stories, one of crude brutality, the other of Christ-like mercy and generosity. I felt the difference in my gut. Our inner being is always guiding us to where healing lives and where healing is begging for attention.

We are living in a time of exaggerated contrast that forces us to choose who we are and what we stand for. Our country is polarized between two sets of values that cannot be reconciled. One is marked by separation, patriarchal domination, warmongering, hatred, and exclusion. The other is founded in compassion, inclusion, the value of life, the dignity of all people, and respect for our planet. Try as you might and hope as you will, these two belief systems will never cohabit under the same roof.

Intensified polarity stimulates spiritual growth far more rapidly than gentler scenarios. The spiritual teacher Bashar suggested the image of two trains leaving a station heading in skewed directions. For a time, if you chose to jump from one train to the other, you could. But at some point the trains have diverged to such a degree that no further transfer is possible. That time has now come.

In response to travel bans, wall building, deportation, and hate crimes against minority groups, a movement to affirm inclusion has arisen. Several restaurants in my town have posted conspicuous signs on their front doors: ALL are welcome here: All religions, All genders, All nationalities, All sexual orientations, All belief systems. . .  [and more]. A year ago we wouldn’t have seen such signs. The clamoring of fear stimulates us to claim the strength of love. Sometimes "the wrong train leads to the right station."

Interviewers have often asked me, “Do you think the world is becoming better, or worse?” The answer is: Both—depending on which world you choose to live in.  What we call “the world” is a mix of many different experiences of reality, each of us occupying the one that matches our consciousness and intention. Many people are waking up rapidly while others are sinking into deeper hypnosis. Portals are opening while hatred is thickening. Jesus explained, “A man cannot serve two masters; he will love the one and hate the other, or he will hate the one and love the other.” He also instructed, “Choose this day whom you will serve.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .” Charles Dickens penned the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities. That title might be updated today as A Tale of Two Realities. There is nothing new about those realities. They have existed always. Evolution is not horizontal, in time. It is vertical, in consciousness.

Lest we be tempted to scapegoat United, egregious as its act was, each of us can and must use the incident for our own personal growth. Any of us may be tempted to resort to physical, emotional, or verbal violence when others stand in the way of what we want. We also have the capacity to choose gentleness, patience, and kindness instead. Every day we are presented with numerous opportunities to exercise that choice.

Another trait of spiritual mastery is to recognize gifts and opportunities where others cite grievances. The airplane incident may serve to wake millions to our obligation to treat each other fairly and with dignity. There were many options the airline could have exercised short of violence. If this incident sensitizes us to not accept abuse, it will have served well. The United passenger could become the next Rosa Parks and incite a new level of civil rights awareness.

As the fellow was being dragged through the aisle, someone asked, “Is there a doctor on board?” Ironically, the man who was being dragged is a doctor. He didn’t want to give up his seat because he had to get home to treat patients in the morning. Behold a teaching: When we use brute force to get rid of what annoys us, we remove from our midst the very element that can save us.

Alan Cohen is the author the bestselling A Course in Miracles Made Easy: Mastering the Journey from Fear to Love.  Join Alan in Hawaii this June 19-23 for a life-transforming retreat, Power, Passion, and Purpose: a Training to Live Your Vision. For more information about this program, Alan’s books and videos, free daily inspirational quotes, online courses, and weekly radio show, visit www.AlanCohen.com.