If I could ask a question of the people who control our world, I would ask them what proof they would need to see that would allow them to accept what Science has discovered, that the whole of the Earth and even the whole of the Universe is made of the same interconnected “stuff.” Because not only does this mean that we, as humans, are all essentially “one,” it means that everything any of us does that hurts others—whether it be lying, or cheating, or stealing, or deliberately causing physical injury, or being cruel or mean—causes injury to the whole of which each of us is a part.
Everything you see, touch, taste, smell, hurt or help is, by its very nature, you. That is perhaps the deepest lesson we are here to learn. And once the people who are in power in the world are able to understand this one core truth, they will begin to behave completely differently, and they will only do things that are either for the benefit of the many, or, at the very least, do the tribe no harm.
And there aren’t meant to be “many” tribes vying for dominance; there is only one tribe and we are all members of it, and we are meant to work together as one to benefit the whole, each in our own unique way. This idea that we are members of small, separate, and oppositional tribes denies our true heritage as members of the human tribe. We do not have to fear others, and instead of seeing strangers as potential rivals or enemies, we can see them as potential allies or friends, and as another member of our one human tribe, as someone to talk to for a moment, or share a laugh, or even just a smile as you pass on the sidewalk.
I smile and nod, or even say “Hi” or “Hey” to everyone willing to make eye contact with me wherever I go, which is actually quite a lot of people—though I suspect many are only making that eye contact to try to decide if I’m someone they should fear. But when they meet my eyes, they see in my smile and hear in my greeting that I am a friend and not an enemy, and they always respond in kind by smiling or nodding back or casting out a greeting of their own, as if we’ve been neighbors for years and pass each other often.
The reason we all crave that kind of connection, no matter how brief—with others, with Nature, with the Earth, and with all the planets, moons and stars in the Universe—and the reason we respond to it so quickly when the opportunity to do so arises, is that at the very core of our being, those connections make us feel more whole because everything in the Universe is truly a part of us, which is what makes that kind of connection possible to begin with.
And in the same way, think about how it feels when you step into the woods or anywhere out in Nature for the first time in a while or even just a few days. Or when you take a few minutes to really look up into the clear night sky, and that sudden feeling of connection and wholeness wells up inside you, as though you are, even if only for a moment, home.
So, what better way to connect—even if only briefly—to these other parts of ourselves we share this planet with, than to nod or say hello to everyone as you pass them on the street or in the aisle at the grocery store, each of us exploring our own unique possibility for the human expression of that “one stuff” that makes up the Universe.
So, not only do no harm to the tribe as a whole or to any member of the tribe, but be kind and helpful to everyone and everything, for they are all a part of you.
Imagine what the world would be like if everyone lived as best they could according to those rules. That’s a world I’d like to live in, where everyone would be able to flourish, because we’d all be trusting and helping one another to achieve both our in-common and personal goals, and supporting one another constantly to become better at being human, and better human beings.
I’ve been living according to those rules for a long time now. Maybe you have, too. But if you’re not quite living by them yet, I can tell you this: it’s not as hard as you might think to get started and to stay with it, and it gets easier every single day, because, little by little—and sometimes in leaps and bounds—just living by those two rules will make you feel good, and that’s because you’ll feel more connected. And the more connected you feel to the whole of what and who you are—everything around you and the Universe itself—the happier you’ll be.
Don’t stop changing,
Brian
