One of the root causes of the difficulty we find ourselves in on Earth today is the fallacy of separateness. As an experiment, stop what you’re doing, and really reflect on the collection of thoughts, perceptions, feelings and body that you commonly call “ME”. As you look at this interesting construct, see if you can find a discreet particle of “ME” that isn’t made of something else. Body? Millions of years of DNA that came from “Others” and elements that can be traced to the Big Bang. Thoughts? Ever had a teacher, a friend, a family member or a total “stranger” influence the ingredients in your thoughts? This experiment is pretty definitive but if you’re still not convinced, read Brian Greene’s “Fabric of the Cosmos”. The scientific truth is that we are all made of everything else-the SAME everything else-and none of us could or does actually exist as a separate phenomenon.
Nowhere is this better expressed perhaps than when we get outside our personal, political, and other belief system boundaries to support our communities. To paraphrase John Gardner community is less intimate than “personal” and more intimate than “public”. A community is where human beings are at their best. At IDEAS, we practice that. Just this month, we have contributed our very best expertise, time and resources to support the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, The Women’s Residential Counseling Center, and PCI Media Impact. Throughout the year, our IDEAS family will also touch Florida Little Dog Rescue, United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida, Florida Special Olympics, WMFE-Central Florida Public Radio, The League of Women Voters and many many other people and places (view more of our Causes HERE). The reason is because we know we are NOT separate. When you are driving to work or walking back from lunch or a meeting and you see someone who needs money, needs shelter, needs a kind word of encouragement; that person isn’t “just like you”—that person IS you. She is made of the same things you are, he is manifesting the way he is because of causes-maybe bad luck, maybe unskillful choices, maybe physical, mental or emotional illness-any of which can show up for any of us, any time. Learning to see this way-to see past the illusion of “Them and Us” is the key to a less violent, less dangerous and more peaceful and abundant world.
