As we go about our day, most of us don’t realise how dependent we are on each other, and how the behaviour of one person can influence many others. For us to do anything we want, we need to depend on others and the environment to function in a particular way. The choices that other people make impacts us, and the choices we make in response impacts them.
Think about something as simple as needing to travel to the other side of town for a meeting. You have a choice of how to get there; if you decide to take public transport you are dependent on the state of mind of the driver, and other passengers. If you decide to drive yourself, you are still dependent on the choices that the other drivers and pedestrians around you are making. If the taxi in front of you decides to stop before a green traffic light to pick up a passenger, the consequence could be that you need to wait for the next green light which takes 4 more minutes. Then, you could choose to be frustrated, which could impact how you drive. You may horn angrily at a pedestrian walking in front of your car, which startles them, and they forget to send an important email that day, which affects their business turnover, and the income of other families. Do you see where I’m going with this?
My point is that we sometimes get so lost in our illusions of independence, hierarchy, and separation, that we have lost sight of just how inter-dependent we all are. The truth is each being is as valuable as any other, and we all unconsciously depend on each other more than we realise. What if we lived with the belief that we are all part of the same tribe, and each person’s wellbeing is as important as the other? That belief alone would change the way we respond to each other, and we could create a world that has more unity, acceptance and peace. Take a moment to think about that.
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