From day one we realise that our surviving and thriving depends on those we’re in connection with. We understand that our relationships matter, we are dependent on those who are able to care, to take care of us when we can’t take care of ourselves.
So then what happens? Defiant toddlers asserting their independence usually then move into understanding the importance of sharing as we learn that coexistence is essential. Yet those of us growing up in a capitalist society are encouraged to believe we’re in competition with each other. Patriarchy, racism, classism and other insidious factors can lead us to think some humans are worth more than others (literally in terms of pay, but also in terms of opportunities, and in a sense of who is seen as expendable). Some of us lose sight of that truth that our lives are interwoven and start to imagine that the consequences of our choices are irrelevant to anyone but themselves.
How do we end that disconnection? What will have the isolated remember? Literally re-member, return as a member of an interconnected human race. Every nano second we’re living out and experiencing the butterfly effect and every choice we make is not just on behalf of ourselves but on everyone else. I appreciate that might seem a weighty responsibility - tho maybe only if you think you’re facing it alone rather than comprehend how actually because we’re all in this life together we can support each other.
In a world where we have people who think it’s ok to have lots whilst others have nothing, including politicians being paid thousands (£276,130) for a single speech or wearing ludicrously expensive clothing whilst those impacted by policies they invoked are struggling to eat, I’m wrestling with what we need to change. How do we break through the barriers of entitlement so that those hording more than they need realise that what is in their bank is meaningless if the people they share oxygen with are unable to have even a basic existence? And that the same oxygen, water, soil etc sustains us all. How do each of us reclaim our knowledge that we all need each other?
