The daily process of finding today's topic, based on a letter of the alphabet, is highly enjoyable just by itself. The added benefits of daily posting, making new blogging friends, and the satisfaction of participating in a community event are just cream cheese frosting on the chocolate cake of my life.
When I was a girl riding along in the family station wagon in the backseat, I used to occupy my mind with a little game. As we drove by a home, with warm lamplight illuminating the front room, I would often glimpse a solitary person sitting, perhaps watching tv, perhaps reading, and I would be astounded once again by the thought that this solitary person had a life, with preferences, interests, dislikes, relationships, and promise. Every time, I would have this big "Aha!" moment as I connected with the truth of the bigger picture.
Years later, while reading my favorite The Growing Up Pains of Adrian Plass, I came across this phrase,
And that pretty much summed up my childhood game (which I have continued with). Everybody I meet is the "I" of his or her own life. Everybody I meet has interests, a past, relationships, favorite foods, a broken dream or ten, needs, and an entire internal landscape. To the degree that I remember that, I am empowered to offer kindness and compassion to people I cross paths with each day.Everybody is I
Do you have a similar phrase, one that is meaningful to you? In what ways have you had the experience of realizing that everybody is I?
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10 comments:
One of my favorite phrases comes from a song by The Essence from the album Spiritual Chillout, "You are part of everything and everything is part of you." :-)
I love the painting at the top of your blog!
It's a bit like that game where, when you are at a restaurant or a mall you pick a person and try to infer what their life is like based on just what you see. A good way to consider how we are all connected!
Oo, Mindy, I love that! I will check out that album. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for stopping by, Border-Breaking Bound!
It was a long time before I started to "get" that idea of connection!
You are right there should be activities that people should do together so that good values such as companionship, kindness, understanding can develop.
Hmmm, what a nice question, Susan. I was stumped, though I love your 'Everyone is I'. The closest to me, though not from childhood (it would have been about horses if from my childhood) is from A Course In Miracles, which a friend exposed me to some 30 years ago. "Everything that isn't love is fear." Whenever I see or experience or feel something uncomfortable, I try to imagine what the fear is which underlies it. It has saved me countless squabbles and taught me to look outside myself--much like your 'Everyone is I' or Border-breaking bound's thought as well.
Hi Cynthia! I think it is so interesting that you mentioned A Course in Miracles. Just this morning, I started reading You Can Heal Your Life. And I'm already finding that idea "Everything that isn't love is fear."
Hey Susan! Thanks for your comment at my blog post (I have another one up today)! I really don't know how to manage anything on Blogger, including how to sub to my blog. It seems that it should be easy but I think it may have been easier in the past, back when I actually knew what all was going on with Blogger.
Sorry to have no information for you but I was glad to be able to come over here and check out your blog again. I love the A-Z thing you're doing!
That is an interesting insight! It's the first time I've heard of that phrase.
From the A-Z neighborhood,
D is for Deecoded
"To the degree that I remember that, I am empowered to offer kindness and compassion to people I cross paths with each day..."
Our "E" posts were quite similar with mine being about empathy.
So true that we have that choice about how we interact with and treat others - and what a difference how we do that can make in someone's life!
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