"We Are Because We Belong"

For the last couple weeks I have been getting occasional e-mails from my mom, urging me to go see the documentary "I Am." And like most things mom encourages me to do, she usually has a good reason behind it and usually ends up being right. So, Joe, Kylee and I went to see it at The Palm tonight in San Luis Obispo and after what had seemed like not a great day for all three of us, we ended the night feeling elated, sad yet hopeful, and inspired.

The documentary is a must-see. It questions: What is wrong with the world and what can we do about it? Clearly there is a poison beneath the surface of all the hate, wars, crime, anger, prejudice, etc. that pollutes our lives. What is the reason? The message the film emits is one of the innate unity of mankind with each other and with all elements and living creatures on the earth...that we become who we are because we are so dependent on others to learn to be human. That it is our nature cooperate and to belong, and when we turn against these natural inclinations and focus on ourselves as independent individuals rather than the oneness and connection that all living things share...we create this discord and disharmony that triggers fear, hatred, and the illusion that we are different from one another.

The segment in the film that struck me the most was the discussion about how humans are all wired to share a sense of sympathy. We cringe when we see others getting hurt, we can feel the pain that others feel through recognizing their suffering. And most of all we can feel the love that others feel. The image of a six year old boy running, crying, into the arms of his father who returned from Iraq to surprise his son made me choke up. My chest expanded, my throat got tight, and tears fell from the corners of my eyes and ran down my cheeks. And as I experienced this connection of love that was outside of my own reality, but a sympathetic connection to another's...the narrator described the exact physical feeling that I was simultaneously feeling. How can we not be connected spiritually, emotionally, and physically with each other and with other living species? Why do we as humans focus so heavily on our individual successes or possessions? Those individual parts of life really don't matter, yet we are taught that those successes we achieve independently make us superior. What a silly concept, when we would be nothing without our dependence on and connection with other humans, plants, animals, etc.

My natural inclinations are towards understanding, love, acceptance, and inclusion. And although I certainly don't always follow through on what I believe to be the best image of my truest self, I have always been an idealistic, and emotionally-conscious person. It is nice to be reminded from time to time, even if just from a documentary, that without love, oneness, and respect for every living part of this world, we are nothing. We have to belong.