On the train to Brooklyn, NY, my brothers and I signed a petition to keep 13 Nassau County public buses in service. The woman announcing the petition was soulful and inspiring. She was fearless, standing before strangers in a train car to spark interest. She displayed her passion to protect individuals who depend on the public buses--people who need a voice. We thanked her for the commitment to helping people, and the guts she had to get in front of everyone and ask for volunteers to sign. She then stated:
Once you see everyone else as yourself, the distance between individuals evaporates.
What a beautiful statement. She was comfortable getting in front of a large group of people because she recognized they were elementally no different than herself. We are all one; we are human beings in a physical body, living in a physical world. We are interconnected on a multitude of levels, yet we are not always consciously aware of our connection. Though we each are unique, at our core we are the same. As Aldous Huxley perplexingly says in The Doors of Perception:
Within sameness there is a difference. But that difference should be different from sameness is in no wise the intention of all the Buddhas. Their intention is both totality and differentiation.
My interpretation? Everything in our world is equal. The person sitting next to us is no different than ourselves; nor is the tree, flower, ocean. Everything exists, and is therefore the same. All beings, materials, and life forms are eternally transient--they are limited in their physical existence. Yet, this sameness does not hinder the uniqueness of all life forms.
Once we awaken to the powerful, complex idea of being equal to all, the distance between ourselves and the physical world becomes infinitely smaller. We connect deeper with others, recognizing they are simply an extension of ourselves. Download and listen to this powerful track from Deepak Chopra in The Soul of Healing Affirmations:
Once we awaken to the powerful, complex idea of being equal to all, the distance between ourselves and the physical world becomes infinitely smaller. We connect deeper with others, recognizing they are simply an extension of ourselves. Download and listen to this powerful track from Deepak Chopra in The Soul of Healing Affirmations:
Deepak Chopra - Bonding |
Today, I will bond with others knowing that the other is myself in disguise.
I will let go of my separate self.
I will let go of my separate self.
Let's connect with our world, especially with the spirit of the holidays. Embrace your web of relationships with the universe.
ॐ KConn
ॐ KConn