Day 5: Remembering to see the connectedness of our world
On our little bulletin board in the dining room, we keep some quotes.
The first one “We is a community, and they is a crowd,” was something I found in New Orleans when I went there with my mom. The second quote is “It’s the little things in life that touch our hearts the most” which is a thank you note from a friend. I like to keep them nearby, to remind me of what’s important.
The community quote reminds of of the Star Bellied Sneeches. Did you ever read that book by Dr. Suess? Where the sneeches run in and out of the star belly machine, trying to fit in, trying to put on stars and take them off … all in an attempt to be in the popular crowd? The irony of the story is that by the end, no sneech knew if it was popular to have a star on their belly or not. If the sneeches had seen themselves as one big family, a “we,” they wouldn’t have worried about who had a star, and who did not. Instead, the sneeches were very worried about being an outcast, about fitting in the wrong crowd, about being labeled a “they.”
When we focus on similarities, and see the connectedness of each other, we don’t waste time focusing on superficial things. When we can see the “we” in our surroundings, our world, we can focus on what is important and let the rest of the drama and nonsense fall away.