Buddhism teaches that all of life is connected. While I am sure this concept, in a limited way, is no surprise to any of us, I wonder if we have stopped to truly consider just how far reaching this truth extends. All of us will probably think of being connected to family, friends, co-workers, and others we come in contact with on a fairly regular basis. But, if you will, please take a moment to join me in a quick mental exercise.
Think of a can of green beans you can pick up at your favorite grocery store. Have you ever stopped to think how that single can of green beans actually connects you with, dare I say it, all of the universe? Please indulge me as I just scratch at the cells on the top layer of this concept.
Somewhere there was a farmer who tilled the soil and planted the seeds that produced the green beans in that can. This farmer used many different pieces of farming equipment – from hoes to tractors – to produce those beans. Each piece of equipment used opens a whole new line of thought as to how it connects us to people and planet. There are all of the people who were involved in each industry, from gathering resources to selling and delivering the finished product. There are all the ones involved in producing the resources used by those people. And thus far we are only looking at how we are connected to people and resources to produce the beans. What about the connections involved in the making of the can into which the green beans were placed? What about the connections needed for the label on the can, from those making the paper, producing the various colors of ink, the makers of the glue that will hold that label to the can? And at this point I have only mentioned in an obscure way the soil, water, minerals, sunshine, and cosmic motion in place that allows all of these things to be. All of life, animate and inanimate, past, present, and future, share a connection with one another.
“Okay, Keith,” I can hear you saying. “Just what is the point of all of this?”
What if the consequences of my actions are much more far reaching than I ever stopped to imagine? This thought is not offered with the intention of paralyzing you into inaction. Rather, I want to inspire all of us to act in positive ways, even if they may seem unimportant to us at the time. Like me, you may often think your actions make little difference to the big picture. But I would suggest that even our small positive actions to make a better environment, to support equality and justice issues for oppressed peoples, do make a real and needed difference. That small word or act of kindness prompted by love for others is worth doing. It creates ripples that spread out in ways we cannot even imagine. Every unkind word or action, however small, that we refrain from reduces the destructive energy feeding our world.
Is this all just a bunch of archaic hippy dippy, flower power mumbo jumbo? Before you answer, let me ask you to think back over your own life. Can you not vividly recall small things, both good and bad, that have made truly long-lasting impressions on you? What if the bad ones were reduced and the good ones increased? Would you not feel that your life was significantly better?
Think about it.
You are loved - peace!
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