A person can either have a harmonious or confrontational relationship with his or her environment. This is one of the hard facts of life. You can’t have something in-between harmonious and confrontational because such a state does not exist. You can of course have varying degrees of harmony and conflict. Understanding that our physical surroundings are extensions of our physical bodies can be helpful in creating more harmony.

Everything Is An Extension Of Ourselves

Simply stated, our physical bodies are extensions of our spiritual bodies, if you will, and our physical surroundings are extensions of our physical bodies. There is no separation between them at all. It is in believing that a separation occurs that can foster conflict and result in things being more difficult and arduous. This way of thinking mirrors the idea that all things in the Universe are interconnected and extends it somewhat further. Consider what it would be like if we viewed all of our situations or circumstances within our personal lives, as extensions or part of us, like our arm or toes.

If someone at work were having difficulty with a co-worker, then by default all the employees who worked closely with the troubled employee would also be suffering from the same difficulty. Notice that I said they would have the same difficulty, which is important to ensure that no separation occurs. I wonder how the individuals in such a scenario would act. By default, they would not be able to ignore the situation and say that it is their co-workers problem and not theirs. They would be forced “into involvement,” and so be a part of the solution or assist in the further damaging of the situation.

By the way, what I am saying is not just my opinion but also the correct way to view interconnectedness. To be interconnected does not mean a “partial” connection or that a connection occurs when it is convenient. Every person, place or thing that is in a person’s life, whether beneficial or not, is a part of that person. Let’s give some examples shall we.

1. If your neighbor is involved in domestic violence, then you are involved in domestic violence.

2. If a co-worker is being over-worked and under-paid, then all of his/her fellow employees are affected deeply by this injustice.

3. If a friend is physically assaulted and raped, then all of his/her friends and acquaintances will be emotionally scarred from the assault as well.

4. If you are walking down the street and witness someone being mugged, then you will be affected by that mugging for the rest of your life just as the person who was mugged will be.

5. If you cheat on your taxes, then all people who cheated on their taxes will be significantly affected by that choice just as you will be.

I am merely speaking in a factual way, without making any judgments about what should be done in each given example above. The value of connecting to our humanity on such a deep level enables us to move beyond boring cliché and tap into such qualities as Motivation, Empowerment, Purpose, Love, Empathy, Support, Nurturing as actual human experiences and all the risk involved with making these types of choices. Yup, that’s right all, there is risk involved with standing up for each other. In doing so we have to look at our fears squarely in the face and honor them. Stare at them, feel them, and allow them to be what they are, which is simply feelings. They are not things that cause us problems or pain or trauma or anything negative. They don’t really have that much power over us unless we let them. Learning to feel without judgment, which can be translated into resistance will allow feelings to be our ally. They will nurture us, inspire us, empower us, and motivate us to name a few. Yet, this enemy of the people is a victim of a false identity. Someone along the way, probably a man, and remember a man is writing this piece, decided that feelings should be suppressed because they could somehow hurt us. Now that is a silly notion and I for one am a little upset at this falsehood! Feel people, so that you can become humanistic and move out of your robotic intellectualism.