We Are The World

"You yourself are the eternal energy which appears as this universe. You didn’t come into this world, you came out of it, as leaves from a tree." ~Alan Watts

This week’s quote is a reminder that we are fundamentally the same thing as the reality that we behold. On the surface, this sounds like a fairly obvious notion. Afterall, how could you possibly consist of anything else besides the eternal energy of the universe? However, many people feel disconnected from the world, regarding themselves as strangers in a foreign land, unaware that they are a creative expression of the same lifeforce energy that gives rise to all of existence. What can you do to maintain a sense of connection to the greater whole?

One way to appreciate your connection to the universe is by understanding where all the atoms in your body come from. All the various elements that make up your body were formed inside of stars which have exploded, reformed, and exploded again over billions of years. In fact, the hydrogen atoms in your body were formed during the Big Bang itself which happened an estimated 13.8 billion years ago. It’s crazy to think that atoms formed inside an impossibly huge explosion which took place at the dawn of time would one day become an essential part of our bodies, yet here we are.

Another way to understand how you are fundamentally connected to the universe is to consider the second part of this week’s quote, which explains that you didn’t come into this world, you came out of it. Alan Watts compares how we come out of the Earth to the way a leaf grows on a tree. An individual leaf may have its own unique size and shape, but it is also an inseparable part of the tree as whole. It appears that Earth is a planet that naturally produces people, just as certain trees will naturally produce fruit, as long as all the conditions are right.

So, instead of thinking of yourself as an isolated individual, alone in a vast universe, remember that you are a unique manifestation of the same basic energy that makes up everything around you. You didn't just appear here by accident one day, rather you have been here all along in the sense that your essential energy is the same energy that creates and sustains the entire universe. You are not a separate entity that came into the universe from somewhere else, rather you are the universe itself- experiencing life as a conscious being for a little while.