“IT HAS TO BE EVERYBODY OR NOBODY” –
“A PERFECT METAPHOR FOR WHO WE ARE AS HUMAN BEINGS”
I have written in several places about the “plague of the other”; how
often, usually out of fear or suffering from a lack of self-confidence, we
choose to see ourselves as separate from each other and as superior to “the
other.”
In the book, “Everyday Bias,”* which develops the
reality that we all possess implicit biases, I came across a metaphor by the
author, Howard J. Ross, that I found extremely compelling in this regard.
Here it is.
*****
Many of us have seen the magnificent forests full of aspen trees that
grow in large “stands” throughout the northern areas of North America. The trees are extraordinary, ramrod
straight, and often standing nearly one hundred feet tall. There can be thousands of them in just
one stand. Still, we look at each
of these trees and see it in its solitary magnificence.
But there is something interesting under the surface of these
forests. These trees are not at
all separate. Underneath the soil,
they are connected by a common root system, and that makes each of these
clusters of trees among the largest organisms on Earth. A new tree grows because the root sends
out a runner that then grows into another tree. The largest of these is called “Pando” (Latin for “I
spread”), and is located in the Fishlake National Forest in south-central
Utah. Pando covers more than 106
acres and has been estimated to collectively weigh almost seven thousand tons,
making it the heaviest organism in the world. It also is thought to be more than eighty thousand years
old, making it one of the world’s oldest known living organisms.
And yet we see it as a lot of single trees.
The trees brings us to a perfect metaphor for we who are as human
beings. We look at the “other” as
if he or she is separate from us.
We see the other group as a threat. And yet, we are all deeply connected. We share a common destiny on this
planet. We all seek pleasure and
do our best to avoid pain. We want
what is best for our children and grandchildren. All of us are the products of that which we have seen
before. And we are all (for the
most part) unconscious about the “programming” that runs our thoughts and our
lives.
We can transcend. We can,
through discipline, practice and awareness, find a new way to relate that
honors our differences, yet also build
upon our similarities. While
the potential for mass destruction looms broadly in the world and our global
community expands, we are more and more invited to recognize, as R. Buckminster
Fuller said, that “we are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth
successfully, nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our
fate as common. It has to be
everybody or nobody.”
That is the path before us.
It is indeed the “road less traveled” when we look at our common
history. But it is a road that is
worth paving clear.
What could be a greater journey?
*”Everyday Bias, Identifying and
Navigating Unconscious Judgments in our Daily Lives”
EverydayBias031815
No comments:
Post a Comment