Inter dependence. . . . How ever we might like to challenge this and wish to disagree, it is a fact that we need each other and every other little thing we perceive in our world.
On a very fundamental level we need Nature to physically survive - Nature is the building blocks of 'who we are', of our physical bodies. Of course it is crazy to disagree if we think about it. It is Obvious. See the picture above - just by looking at it - we know what it means to us.
This 'Meaning' which we place upon the picture above is individual. The 'meaning' it has for us expresses our individuality. By our very nature we are unique.
It makes life colourful and interesting
What is not so obvious is why we seem to need others do as we do, think as we do, believe as we believe, experience what we experience - I think at a deep fundamental level, this has been true for most of us - until - it proves difficult, challenging, uncomfortable, dangerous even, then we might begin to challenge and ask the question - why?
Why do we need this so much? Is it that we feel alone? are we insecure? do we doubt our own experience? The answer seems to be Yes! . . . . . and . . . . . No!
I refer to this Polarity as the 'Divine Conundrum'. We know our Individuality and strive for it, yet we long for connection, we yearn for unity, we crave acceptance, appreciation, and at the deepest level - love.
Why is this? It seems our personalities and our egos, our individuality is expressed in the world we inhabit - it's the 'you' and 'me' aspects - the 'I' and 'we' of the trio, but where is this other part to complete the triangle? There is a part of our larger 'Selves' I refer to as simply the 'Self' - an aspect we all share but one which is not 'obviously' visible it's not tangible, not obvious. This part of our selves I have come to know as the silent messenger and driving force of who we are in our wholeness and also who and what everything else is. We crave to experience this to complete the picture, to join together, to know what it is which unites us -
In religious texts it is often referred to as 'the father' - which I interpret as symbolic of 'Creator' or the 'Great Sustainer', the Giver of Life. We share the same 'father' the same creator, the same sustainer - that which breathes life into us. There are as many names to describe this as there are human beings*. We think we know about the 'father' but it is the 'mother' who we know intimately, who we are now abusing - Mother Nature, the Earth, our physicality. The father is hidden from view but the presence is felt within everything we do. The breath of life which fills our lungs and each cell with light from the cosmos is coming from a source we are all a part of. We know this and have a deep desire to reunite with this knowledge.
For me it is essential that we do, because to survive as a species we need to remember that there is no such thing as right or wrong, they are opposite sides of the same coin - both are essential. Life is built upon polarities and nothing is exclusive. The earth is round, it is obvious that when the sun shines upon it, the other side will be in darkness - does that mean that rape & pillage goes on in this darkness? Of course not! The darkness is in our own minds, it is not fixed, it is in constant motion, perpetual flux. The moment it all stands still is the moment that we exit this drama of life.
This life is a drama, and oh what a wonderful drama it can be, but are we happy with our roles? Quite often we are not, which is a shame because as I see it, this is the very reason we are in need of each other. The 'Creator' writes the script and the 'Director' directs - how would it be if all the actors suddenly wanted to have each other's parts? The Creator wouldn't get to see the 'story' play out and the director would be unable to direct it successfully A mess, a jumble, a squabbling, a childish farce would be the outcome - disaster. And this is what we get!
It's called dissatisfaction. It's the human disease - its destroying us all.
Discovering the great equaliser, which resides within us as 'unconditional love' is the desire we share - this is what unites us - the desire to be loved, and what provides this love is what we experience every minute but we have lost touch with it. It resides within our own 'Selves' and at the very same time expands outwards uniting and sustaining all there is. Scientists are trying to pin it down, but its impossible because it is outside of the human intellect- it is way beyond our small thoughts of "How?" We can feel it. We can share it, we can know its essence, but it is the polar opposite of logic, the intellect, so like the two sides of the same door they shall never meet. It is only through the permeable fabric of oneness which sustains existence, (and forms the hinge upon which the 'door' hangs) that the circle of life will meet and know itself.
Through the osmosis of 'being' we can perhaps accept that our universal umbilical chords weave similarities which unite us....... Yes chords! - Music of the spheres, Primordial sounds which we can all hear within our ancestral hearts - you and I are the same on this Universal level and our individuality adds colour and texture to the pictures we see. Each picture we present to one another tells us about our(many)selves, it reflects our likes our dislikes our talents our gifts and if we can receive all of these with respect and gratitude and appreciation for the amazing view 'out there' everyday, we have the opportunity and the choice to see in each other, then harmony, love and even the peace we crave may manifest!
Why are we arguing about 'right or wrong' when there is no such reality? It is a man made mental construct for which no 'individual' can be the judge except for his/her own seeing
Tolerance . . . . I'm not sure I like this word much. Our prime ministers and leaders use this word, saying we need to develop this quality to be able to accept our differences. But it sounds patronising to me and a bit like there's something hidden beneath it, a fundamental unwillingness, a conditioned in-tolerance a decision to 'put up with'. Tolerance is not enough. Understanding, respect and most of all Appreciation for one another is more like it.
Respect because each and everyone of us are equal in the eyes of God,(and this is not a word I would ordinarily use either, but it is a universal symbol in conveying that the gift of life is granted to us by a power beyond our immediate control). And who has the authority to judge that one person is better than another considering the 'creator' waved the mysterious wand of life and here we all are - warts and all?
Understanding because by the very nature of the word, it brings with it a sense of humility, under-standing = standing under/beneath. Openness to the other, asking if there is a message for me by the very fact that this person is in 'my world' (within my seeing)- Is there something they have to offer me, can I understand their gift, their presence?
The Presence within which each and everyone one of us stands in this life, can be an offering to 'the Other' - to you and to me. The 'role' the player plays as he/she enters the drama of our lives has meaning and significance for us. This cannot not be overlooked. If it is, a whole load of mystery, drama and excitement is lost and the 'story' becomes dull and we become dissatisfied.
We want to know each other because deep down we know we will see the whole of our selves in the reflection we see. I cannot see myself with my own eyes - I need a mirror and the clearest mirror is you.
CHOICE
Another conundrum! Choice is supposed to be the gift that elevates us from other animals in our natural world. Choice allows us to discern between - create even - those forks in the road on the journey of life we confront daily. Do we see it as a gift? Are we in gratitude every time we have this opportunity to choose? No! because we are, so often, out of touch with our 'choice maker', especially the most important one - The Self - The intuition, the inner-tutor or inner-sense.
We use our personalities, our past experience, our preferences to decide. We listen to our thoughts which usually - unless we are in Awareness of them continually - are directing the story in their own habitual way. This 'habitual' way is not always the best choice if this always delivers what we have always had. If we want a different outcome we have to ask for help from another aspect.
CHOICE IS OURS!
(Perhaps we have fallen out of 'Grace' as a species because we have invested in fear instead of love. This sounds simplistic but when our cumulative behaviour is broken down, it is obvious to me that we are living from a state of fear, a state of separateness, we have forgotten who "we" are, as a 'whole', as a living 'dependent' organism. Like most species we cannot survive alone, and of course we don't survive alone - (extraordinarily that 'alone' is also its opposite with the extra addition of a single letter 'l' - all-one) so the aloneness element is an illusion created by fear - fear that the 'other' will somehow be able to detract from 'us' if invested in. The dichotomy of aloneness has coerced us into forming gangs, borders, separate religions, which on one hand acts as an umbrella, safeguarding us from outside attack but at the same time creates the attacker! If the wall of separateness was not created and put there in the first place, that 'separateness' would not exist. If the barriers were not there we would move freely from one to another.
Many would blame it on the 'Ego' - a massive topic - this 'entity' so dominant in our lives could be the root cause of all our misery, yet at the very same time, the enabler, for the gift of life in this body, this channel, this portal to experience and express the Joy of it all - hooray for the 'Ego' which supports and protects our lives! The ego is an essential part of the wholeness, forming a part of the eternal polarity within which we cannot escape, but can begin to thrive.
Polarity has no real beginning nor end, yet it has distinct opposites. Where do they start? where is the beginning of one thing and the ending of another? These beginnings or endings do not exist, they merge through the illusion of separation. Separation is only personal perception. An 'Idea'. Polarity is circular and has no fixed beginning or end, it's an individual experience. Polarity is choice. Polarity is life. We can choose 'Love and oneness' or 'fear and separateness' or of course we can choose 'Grace' which rides both states, surfing the bobbing wave with peaks and troughs, with acceptance and trust and allowance and enjoying every moment as each and every one emerges from this 'source' which by its very nature is 'nurture' and totally fulfilling. Tune into this 'source' and use it like a divine umbilical cord or surf board, which guides, protects and sustains from beginning to end! )
WATCH THIS!....choice & everything else - Marianne Williamson -
http://www.supersoul.tv/supersoul-sessions/marianne-williamson-the-spiritual-purpose-of-relationships
http://www.supersoul.tv/supersoul-sessions/marianne-williamson-the-spiritual-purpose-of-relationships