Steady
Beat
“If
you place two living heart cells from different people in a Petrie
dish, they will in time find and maintain a third and common beat.”
Molly
Vass
We
humans tend to overlook our magnificent physiology and underestimate
its power in our lives. We overlook the mammalian features of tribe
and species, and undervalue the role of genetic inheritance. Most of
us know that when a group of women live together over time, their
menstrual cycles synchronize. And we know that when men are
in combat together, they form stronger bonds with one another than
they have with anyone outside their group. We also know that people
sleep sounder and deeper, if another living being is sleeping nearby,
even a pet; again the product of synchronization. We are all woven from
the same fabric.
If
I were to put a living heart cell from my sworn enemy and one of my
own heart cells into that Petrie dish, they too would find a common
beat. My enemy and I are more alike than we are different. Knowing
this, how can we have so little understanding of one another. The
Dalai Lama often speaks of this unity among the peoples of the
earth—that all of us yearn for the same things, that we all want to
be happy and live in peace. All great spiritual traditions speak of this in their teachings, and have for thousands of years.
We
are brothers and sisters just under the surface. We move to a common
beat, whether we are Americans or Taiwanese or Germans or Congolese.
Our common thread weaves its way through and around and within us.
This is why we are capable of forgiveness and compassion, why we can
love and trust. It is this steady beat that we must now turn our
attention to, and away from the strife of war and competition. We all
want to be happy and live in peace.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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