We Are All One
A couple of weeks ago, my son and I were out watering some new plants in our yard.
He called out to me in a very disturbed voice to come over to the sidewalk that runs along the side of our home. He had discovered a dead pigeon. It was beautiful and looked like it was sleeping.
My seven year-old is very sensitive and was deeply moved by the bird’s death.
This incident created opportunities to talk about topics related to death, spirituality and the cycle of life (he is deeply inquisitive/empathetic in nature). But his comment that stayed with me long past dinner and bedtime into the next day was, “Mom, the reason this upsets me so much is we are all the same. When the bird gets hurt, it’s like one of us getting hurt. We’re all connected, right?”
I do believe we’re all one. But most of the time, this feels like a mental concept for me.
It’s rare that I “feel” this connection, even though I do believe it is always present.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to lead a Self-Renewal Retreat at the beautiful Crossings Spa and Retreat Center for 30 women from around the world (their ages ranged from 31-66).
The women were all at different life stages—single, newly married, mothering young kids, making career changes, hitting milestone birthdays, contemplating divorce, beginning to unleash their creativity, starting the journey to heal from past wounds and waking up to the idea that they actually could course-correct and begin to create a life that deeply nourished them.
By the end of the weekend, even though our circumstances or life stages might “look” different, we could all sense how deeply our lives, fears, hopes and dreams were interwoven.
As we gathered that last day in the drizzly rain around the labyrinth, we could all feel this “human fabric” and that undeniably, there was much more that bonded us, than separated us.
I’m curious, what things in your life help you tap into the we are all one feeling?
For me, it’s when I am deeply connected to others in a women’s self-renewal circle, when I get the opportunity teach/speak to groups, when I hike on the greenbelt and see others out in nature, when I hear a mother’s pain as she cares for her sick child, when I coach a client who is crying because they are so ready to align who they are with what they do in the world or when I watch fear rise and fall in reaction to the Swine Flu.
And, it’s when I get quiet, follow my intuition and tap into a universal need (Live Inside Out celebration launching this Friday which includes a free download of my book, is one way I hope to bring the “we are all one” theme into American households).
I’d love to hear when and how you feel this deep connection to humanity.
Resources: I stumbled across this video of Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu receiving an award from an organization called Humanity’s Team. He talks about how this concept is so relevant right now and a universal theme we all can’t help but explore.
