“Understanding and love are interdependent. Love is made of understanding and understanding is made of love”
—Thich Nhat Hanh

I was sitting on a bench in the park this fall when a young family walked by. A small blond haired toddler was struggling to walk against the crisp autumn winds amongst the foliage that littered the path. She fell down for just a moment when the sure hand of her father reached down to help her up. At that moment something crystallized for me and I began to think about the interdependence of all beings in this world. So many of us focus on becoming independent and think we rely on ourselves for survival, but this is an illusion. The truth is we all need each other for our very existence. Every person on this planet is dependent on other human beings, other species of animals, as well as plant and microbe life. Without her parents that child in the park would be utterly helpless to fend for herself. So, too, are we children of this world. It is only through the complex patterns of community and partnership that we exist.

There are millions of automobiles in this country and we rely on the trucking industry to bring precious supplies to every out post great and small. From medicine to food, to heating oil and pet supplies, to pens and pencils, and almost everything you find in your home and refrigerator has been driven, shipped, flown or delivered by train to get to your location so you could bring it home. The people who drive these vehicles are nameless and faceless to you, but they are indispensable to your survival.

The food in your refrigerator has come from countless places. The oranges from Florida and the avocados from Chile. The wheat from your bread was grown by a farmer far away who gets up every morning with the sun and toils over the land so we may eat. Many of us drive cars and need them to go to work or to pick up the kids from school and do our endless errands, but can any of us really build a car? Can we fix it if it breaks? Can we drill the oil to get the gasoline to power the car? There are hundreds of different systems in your car that are the products of years of innovation and many different minds at work. This is all interdependence. No one stands alone.

In this age of technology we are more dependent on each other then ever. We are a nation and a world of specialists. Everything we do affects every other entity on the planet. Now with the threat of global warming becoming a reality we see how what we do effects everyone. The cigarette that people so callously throw in the street will eventually make it to the oceans where it will make sea life polluted and work its way back through the food chain to you.

This Earth is such a sublime system that we are connected and interdependent with every creature on this world. Not only do we share DNA but we share the oxygen, the oceans, the rivers and the land. We are not alone. On the level of the nation-state we are ensconced with one another economically, environmentally, socially and in every way. Wars are the ultimate affront to interdependence and social structure and these breakdowns should be viewed as nothing short of insanity.

We are one. All are brothers, sisters and one body. We must try to remember that we are all in this together. If we treat each other as fellow travelers and students of this Earth school instead of rivals with different agendas it would go a long way to making the Earth a better place. Whatever religion or ethnicity or sex we might temporarily be, we are all really just souls on an epic journey to learn and grow together. All of us on this planet go through the same cycles of birth, aging and death. Regardless of your beliefs, you cannot escape this fact. We cannot thrive or even survive without helping each other. Let’s extend the knowledge of this fact to all facets of life and lend a helping hand instead of seeking to overpower your fellow traveler. If we act out of love and respect many of our problems would cease. We are each an individual among billions of life forms completely dependent on each other for survival. On a higher level we are all part of the divine consciousness. As human beings we can realize this and work for partnership instead of exploitation. Please treat all with kindness and respect.