me we!

let's start with the genius of john donne:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

lately, i've been thinking more and more about this coexistence of ours. every thought we process, every action we execute, that we think is our own is actually not. we are tied with unbreakable bonds to the rest of society, the rest of this world. everything we do affects everyone else. like the butterfly that effects a tsunami... just as everything everyone else does affects us, in a small or big way.

this, we can understand at an intellectual level; we often read it in books. but what are its implications for daily living? yesterday, i was in a class where we had to take turns presenting our projects. i did not want to go first, but as circumstances unfolded, the voice in me was very clear that it made most sense for me to set up my laptop and present first. i let go of the inhibitions, the self-conscious feeling, and volunteered to go first. it is these seemingly inane moments of abruptly shutting off the fear that bring with them deep insight.

i realized then that while we do have decision-making power, and can choose to do a myriad things with it, there's almost always a 'best for all' option in a given situation. prisoner's dilemma. and then, it makes little sense to think in the narrow scope of our selves and our fears. a decision made in a classroom is best made with a fundamental desire for righteous action (reason) and keeping each stakeholder in mind (love). both are primely important.

the subtle fact of the matter is that every situation we find ourselves in - every moment of each day - presents a set of stakeholders. even as i sit and type these words, alone at home on my laptop, i do not do so in isolation. so at every point, i must be responsible. responsible to reason and to love. for ultimately, that is what this coexistence - my presence on earth - demands of me in every moment.