Interdependence Listening Fluency #72

Being human is an amazing thing, isnt it? I mean, we have these incredibly large
brains, that we can use to think and imagine and solve problems and ultimately
shape the world around us. We have our own thoughts, our own feelings, and our
own bodies. As individuals, we are each unique and special. Its really amazing!
But along with this feeling of individual power and uniqueness comes the feeling
of separation separation not only from other people, but also from nature itself.
Its the feeling that I am special, that this is my body, this is my mind, and that it is
unique, and that it must be protected and preserved at all costs. This feeling of
separation influences the decisions we make and the actions that result from those
decisions. Fear can easily arise when one feels separate or isolated. And therefore
fear can be at the root of the decisions and actions one takes. What kind of world
does this create?
The opposite of the feeling of separation is the awareness of interdependence.
Interdependence is simply the fact that all parts of nature (including us!) are
completely dependent upon one another for their existence. One thing cannot exist
without all other things. Take, for example, the cup of coffee you drank this
morning. The beans used to make that coffee were grown in a field in Colombia by
a farmer and his family. They worked hard to cultivate the plants and harvest the
beans and process them for trade. And the beans grew from a seedling planted by
the farmer, and the plant got its energy from the sun and the rain and the soil. And
those farmers needed their own energy from day to day as they worked in the
fields, so they ate food bought from the local market, which came from the hard
work of other farmers. And they also needed food and water and clothing from the
work of so many other people. And ultimately all that energy, including the fuel of
the boats and the trucks and trains that delivered the coffee beans to the
supermarket where you bought them came from the energy of the sun and the earth
and the work of other people. And on and on and on we can go describing the
interdependent nature of reality starting with the coffee cup.
Thats interdependence.
Well, instead of feeling separation all the time, what if we could maintain constant
awareness of interdependence in our daily lives? If fear so easily arises in a state of
separation, what sort of emotion is likely to arise with the constant awareness of
interdependence? And how would that awareness of interdependence change the
way we make decisions and the actions we take? What kind of world might that
create?
Expressions and Vocabulary
ultimately in the end, finally, eventually, sooner or later
to arise to come about, to come into existence, to appear out of something else
existence the state of being; being part of reality
to cultivate to grow, rear, or raise; especially used when speaking about plants.