One world

Once we work through Maslow's hierarchy of needs (see last week's post) and meet those essential needs for ourselves, there is another set of essentials. That is realizing that there are others who have those same needs, and we have the responsibility to help them to meet their needs, no matter who they are or where they are from. For you see, as the English poet John Donne so elegantly put it "no man is an island entire of himself, we are all part of the whole...each man's death diminishes me....send forth not for who the bell tolls, it tolls for thee"

We need to realize that we are all part of a neighborhood, a city, a state, a country, and the world. We all share this planet, with its plants and animals, its environment, its people. We are part of  global community. And as we learned in kindergarten we are supposed to share it. The effects of war, climate changes, disease, and economic uncertainty ultimately know no boundaries. As we have seen with the corona virus it started in one country, but has spread around the world. The Great Depression of our parents and grandparents was global. The great volcanic eruptions, like Krakatoa in the 1800's and Mt Saint Helens in 1980 sent ash around the world.

 The conflagration of war in the 20th century were called World Wars because they were global, affected the whole planet, and reshaped the world as we know it, changing boundaries,, economies, and alliances. Even the smaller wars of later years have caused massive refugee movements, economic disaster, and social upheaval.

So how does this affect you? What can you do? First if you see someone who is in need, reach out to help however you can. Organize with others to provide help. Listen to the cries for help and at least acknowledge that we have work to do. Sometimes it is just a listening ear that people need. Don't isolate - we may need to be physically distant, but let's not wall off our hearts.

Remember, for us to grow and prosper it is essential that we acknowledge that we are one world.
the world doesn't revolve around us, and we can't wall it off from us, it includes us.