Hello,
This is an essay by Maggie Stevens entitled,
We Belong to Each Other.
This past week,
I was given the exceptional gift of reconnecting with childhood friends.
So many things were no longer important.
Gone were the rivalries,
Class rankings,
And who dated whom,
Raising the question,
Did those things matter even back then?
So many ideas can separate us,
Yet there are still connections.
Red and blue neighbors still check on one another and care for those of us who need looking after.
Being a human,
Not even a good one,
Is difficult on the best day.
Yet the media feeds us the idea that the Marlboro Man,
Rambo,
And survival of the fittest are hallmarks of our culture.
Our heroes are cut from the cloth of hyper-individualism.
Our ancestors knew better.
Their survival depended on community.
Loner's didn't survive.
The worst fate given to those who transgressed against the community was shunning and banishment.
For many,
It was a death sentence.
When our ancestors lived in hunter-gatherer bands,
Community was equated with survival.
Our species has the most vulnerable young of any mammal.
To survive,
Our offspring require constant care,
And that took a village.
The mammalian care response was created deep in our nervous system to ensure our survival.
When we care for the young,
The old,
And infirm,
Our brain rewards us with a flood of oxytocins and endorphins to ensure that we repeat those actions.
We are primed to pull together for the greater good.
In our own lifetimes,
We've seen this in action during natural and human-caused disasters.
After 9-11,
People lined up for blocks to donate blood.
After Hurricane Katrina,
Groups as diverse as the Black Panthers and Mennonite congregations traveled to New Orleans to rebuild.
Sixteen years later,
The Black Panther Common Ground Clinic is still serving New Orleans during the current disaster of COVID.
During World War I,
The fabled Christmas Day truce transpired.
On Christmas Eve,
Many British and German soldiers on the Western Front halted shelling and shooting.
They sang Christmas carols.
At dawn on Christmas Day,
German soldiers left their bunkers to call out Merry Christmas across the no man's land,
Filled with the dead of both sides.
They took photographs together.
They took this ceasefire time to gather their dead.
This is who we are in all its madness and tenderness.
Yes,
We can be tribal and divide ourselves into opposing forces.
And we also volunteer at hospitals,
Schools,
Homeless programs,
And animal shelters.
Together we care for children and the elderly.
We worship together.
We sing together.
Play together.
Mourn together.
In Matthew 25-40,
Jesus tells us,
Truly I tell you,
Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters of mine,
You did for me.
The least.
The homeless.
The addict.
The convict.
The trafficked.
He reminds us that no one,
Not even the least of us,
Is any less deserving of attention and care do the Messiah.
The Buddha considered community one of the three jewels or pillars of his practice.
He did not say your enlightenment is more important than community.
In Judaism,
They are called the people of Israel rather than the religion of Israel.
People come before party,
Before platform,
Before country.
The emphasis is on the people,
Not the ideology.
Mother Teresa succinctly stated,
If we have no peace,
It is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
As we approach the holiday season and all its pomp and pageantry,
Let us remember that the most important aspect of all our celebrations is the togetherness and community we create.
Jean Vanier put it this way,
Community is not an ideal.
It is people.
It is you and I.
In community,
We are called to love people just as they are with their wounds and their gifts,
Not as we want them to be.
Let us remember we belong to each other just as we are.
I appreciate that you took the time to listen.
If you like,
You can follow me on Insight Timer and you'll be notified when I post additional meditations and talks.
You can also check out my blog on my website www.
Metamettamindfulness.
Com.
And thanks again for listening.
