the air we breathe

“By breath, by blood, by body, by spirit we are all one.
 The air that is my breath is the air that you are breathing.
 And the air that is your breath is the air that I am breathing.
 …
 By breath, by blood, by body, by spirit we are all one.”
        ~ Sara Tomsen

This is the song clip that was running through my mind as I walked this morning.

we are all one … the air we breathe contains the breaths of each other … we are one

After my experiences in this place last month it’s not surprising that being here I would feel this deep sense of connectedness to the world. Truly, when I am present in the moment, which brings quiet within, I recognize it has never left me, journeyed with me wherever I am, vibrates within me to the song of the eternal. 

We are one. Not just you and I, but all of created life. We are, of course, made of the dust of stars. Yet even more I believe that in the very act of creation something of Divine essence was imparted to each rock and tree, each drop of water and ray of light, every seed and matter of humanity. Something of substance lives and flows within and between all of it. And in our moments of paying attention, being deeply aware of what is around us, we may feel a glimpse of that Essence. 

Perhaps that is why so many of us are drawn to nature, find being in nature renewing and restful. In a place where Divine essence flows naturally, our striving can cease. The masks can fall away. Like the trees, we learn to rest simply in who we are, not striving to be something else, something other, something more. When we connect to this essence around us and stop to rest in harmony with what is, we remember we were created as one. We remember, at least for a moment, that who we are is enough. We remember that we are one part of something so much larger than ourselves that it is beyond our comprehension, yet not beyond our experience. 

And all too easily we forget the truth of this. All too easily we we see only our differences and deny our oneness. All too easily we cast someone as “other”, for their behavior or actions or words or beliefs, and don’t see the divisiveness of our own behavior or actions or words or beliefs. 

Am I able to look within and admit there are times when I am so afraid I’d be willing to kill to keep the world from changing? Am I able to look within and admit the places where I dismiss others as lesser than because they don’t agree with my beliefs or because their actions hurt another? Am I able to see the moments when I wage peace as if I am at war with those with whom I disagree? Am I?

by breath, by blood, by body, by spirit … we are all one