What if the concept of “other” is an illusion?  How much would your world, my world, our world change if we came to the conclusion that we are all part of a whole?  This idea may seem obvious to some people.  Intellectually we understand that human beings are fundamentally built the same.  We share a desire to live lives of satisfaction without active threats of violence and persecution or the passive threats of the absence of food, shelter, and safety.  The problem for most people seems to come when we begin to prioritize our own need for these things above the needs of others.  When we do this, we allow the poisons of worry and fear into our lives.

What I believe to be the greatest flaw in human nature is the inability to recognize and resist fear.  Fear is a natural response to the unknown.  In the history of human kind fear has had an invaluable role to play.  Fear makes people cautious.  What is that dark shadow lurking outside my cave?  It could be a saber tooth tiger that wants me for dinner.  Who is that person approaching our home?  He may be looking to kill me in order to take my food and shelter.  For women in particular, the question of sexual violence is even more of a motivating factor in maintaining a healthy dose of guardedness.  The problem is that fear does not empower.  Fear is the motivating factor in nearly every case of inhumanity that we perpetrate on each other.

We, as human beings, have organized ourselves into groups that share values, customs, beliefs and standards of accepted behavior.  That’s all fine.  What is so hard about recognizing the arbitrary nature of these groups?  Why do so many groups believe that they have it all figured out?  What is so frightening about the unknown?  If we could learn to embrace uncertainty instead of staking our lives on protecting our illusion of truth, what do we have to lose?  More importantly, what can we gain?  Truth can stand up to any test.  Let’s take those tests with ardor and open hearts.  How liberating it could be to not have to stand behind our fortress anymore, to understand that “truth” means different things to different people.  As human beings I believe that we are beginning to understand that we don’t have to be ruled by a negative emotion like fear.  What we can choose is the enlightenment of love.

Think about some of the great catalysts in modern human history.  Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr.  These people started major social and political movements with the philosophy that fear and hate can be overcome with love and kindness.  Gandhi stopped an entire rebellion by going on a hunger strike.  People stopped hurting each other so that this man who had helped so many would not perish.  His love inspired love in others.  Mother Theresa helped to overcome the stigma of caring for and touching the ill and poverty-stricken.  Martin Luther King  helped countless people find the courage to stand up to constant and virulent threats of violence and palpable hatred to demand their civil rights.

It is my belief that each of these leaders was inspired by the idea that we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.  Each of us should treat others as we wish to be treated.  This is a timeless and timely concept.  Of course we all want to survive and thrive.  What many people don’t seem to realize is that in order to do that, EVERYONE has to have a chance.  You can’t survive on your own.  You just can’t.  We need each other.  Get rid of the fear and embrace the light of love.