Tapping Into Oneness
Have you ever heard the saying, “a butterfly’s wings flapping on one side of the planet, can affect the weather on the other side?” This seems like such a small and insignificant action in the great scheme of things and yet, there is profound wisdom in the truth of this reality. We are all connected. Our actions affect not only those within our immediate circle of interaction, but also those on the opposite side of the world.
We are in a constant state of influencing each other. When we really grasp this truth, when we really get it, we realize just how conscientious and compassionate we need to be in order to create more happiness and less suffering in the world. This inter-connectedness, this inter-being, is one of the great teachings of both yoga and Buddhism.
However, it’s not enough to understand this reality by our intellect alone. It’s not enough to gain true insight and understanding into the inter-being of existence. No, we must really delve deep and focus upon this truth. We must use it as an object for our meditation practice. And we must bring it into our experience of being every day until this truth influences our thoughts, words and actions as we live from one moment to the next.
As we tap into this deep feeling of Oneness with all living and even non-living beings, we will feel more happiness, more love, and greater appreciation for the true blessing it is to wake up each day and have a life on this planet. We’ll choose our words with more grace, our actions with greater wisdom, and our thoughts with more love. We’ll think before we leap, pause before we purchase, stop before we waste. Like the butterfly, we will flap our wings in such a way that will bring more happiness and alleviate a little bit of suffering – not just on our side of the street, but in someone else’s neighborhood a thousand miles away.
