Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Post #56: We're All In This Together

This morning at the gym, I saw a new poster with the caption, "Look around, we're all in this together." The same message---in various forms---has been finding its way to me all week, and I can't help but wonder if it's a universal theme that's up for a lot of us right now. (After all, it was on a mass-produced poster at the gym!)

This would make sense. Thus far, 2012 gives every appearance of being a year of reflection, change, and for many people, crisis. It seems to be a year of taking stock and releasing what no longer works. For many, it's a time of endings and/or new beginnings.

We're all in this together. What does that bring up for you? Yesterday, I was driving along, at a very reasonable speed, when a big pick-up truck, going double the speed limit, swerved angrily around my car, almost hitting me from the back and then from the side and front, as the driver made his frustration obvious.

Wow. At first I was a little hurt and offended by what felt like an unwarranted attack, but the internal message I received was to just forgive the driver's rudeness, and move on. I was fine. What I realized, too, was that although I would probably never see that driver again, he had to wake up with his hostility every morning.

My point? When we realize that we're all in this together, we recognize a sweet kind of kinship with those around us: family, friends, and "strangers" alike. We may not be able to feel that commonality or warmth all the time, but just knowing that we're all connected in some important way eventually changes everything. We realize that when we hurt other people, we're hurting ourselves. And most of us don't want to do that anymore.

This week, I invite you to join me in working on recognizing that (inspite of appearances) we really are all in this together, and we're all working parts of an interconnected system. What you do and say ultimately affects your family, your community, and all of humanity. When you cut a brother some slack, or show a sister respect, not only are you remembering who you truly are, but the rewards you reap personally are profound.


I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

Pages