Individuality and sameness

Humans are unique to this world in so very many ways.  The manner in which we live our lives, the technologies we build, the means by which we communicate is vastly different from the rest of the animals on planet Earth.

We are also unique in the ways we differentiate ourselves from one another.  Skin color, religion, nationality, political stance, gender…in our quest for individuality, we identify ourselves in increasingly divisive ways.  Yet we all strive to find common ground.  We all strive to find our place in the world.  We all strive to find love.

We identify ourselves by some of the most amazing intangibles.  I am American.  I am Christian.  I am Buddhist.  I am German.  I am liberal.  I am conservative.  I am I am I am on and on.  But when the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, does this matter?

The divisions we have created between ourselves will be our downfall.  I am sorry to make such a simple and negative statement, but it is utterly true.

Look at the world today.  We are constantly standing against one another over intangible matters.  The various religious sects, be they Muslim, Christian, Jewish or other fighting both amongst themselves and between one another over who’s intangible Powers-that-be are right.  Republicans and Democrats obstructing one another over petty bullshit in a power struggle to control the country.

And just to add to that fun, there are the tangibles we divide ourselves with.  Women having to justify and fight for the right to their own self-care when men make ludicrous laws.  Homosexuals having to fight for equality and the right to marry or adopt or what-have-you.  Transgendered individuals struggling to not have to be identified by gender or sexual orientation to live their own lives.

At the core, at the root of it all, no matter what manner we choose to identify ourselves, tangible or intangible, WE ARE ALL ONE.  Despite religious interest, party affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, skin color, nationality – WE ARE ALL ONE.  And that is the message we need to become more aware of, and more accepting of if we are to avoid collapse.

John Lennon expressed it best in Imagine.  “Imagine there’s no heaven, It’s easy if you try.  No hell below us, above us only sky…Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do.  Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too…Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.  No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.  Imagine all the people, sharing all the world.”  The message is simple – See the world as it can be if WE ARE ALL ONE.

No, we cannot deny our individuality.  No, we are not all equal in that there are people who are going to stand out in different ways in different fields.  No, not everyone can be a winner just for participating – there will be winners AND losers.  But those are true individual matters, and the things that emphasize our individuality in a natural way.

But however we choose to individually identify ourselves, we need to remember that we need to be accepting of the individuality of others.  This should not be cause to opposition, to oppression, and intolerance…because no matter how we are different individually, ALL ARE ONE.

So rather than fighting against one another and our opposing viewpoints, tangible or intangibles, we need to remember they want the same things I want.  They want the same freedom, the same acknowledgement of their individual self, the same chance to identify with whatever group or groups they would.  What they want and what I want, at the root of it all, is the same.

We should not rue our differences, but celebrate them, remembering that within the individuals are the same substance as what is within us.  We need to forge bonds, not break them.  We need to unite for the greater good, not fight for it.  We need to work together for each other, not against one another.  We need to stop separating ourselves from one another, and start working on bringing ourselves together to make the world a better place for everyone.

What makes us all different?  What makes us all the same?  Just some food for thought.