The Southern Copywriter

          The ancient Greeks, during the hellenistic period used a word, an idea, they called Sympatheia.  It means, “all things are interwoven with each other and therefore have affinity for each other.”

It’s the idea that everything in the universe is connected.  And while Sympatheia encumbuses all things, I’ll focus on the most important thing to us, Us. 

That simple, two letter word has the power to change the world.  And each of us, individually, can make it happen, together.  All we have to do is replace the thought of Others, with Us.  Replace Them, with We. 

          The great sages, philosophers, and religious figures have been preaching this idea to us since the beginning of time.

Jesus’ second commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The final six of God’s Ten Commandments to his people reflect that very notion. 

Buddha called this interconnectedness, and taught his followers “to see themselves as one human community.”  A central tenet to Buddhism, it allows that all things are mutually influencing each other, and depend on each other to be.  It says that no one can live on their own, nor can any country or society exist in isolation. 

The last of Rome’s great five emperors, the philosopher king Marcus Aurelius said, “frequently consider all things in the universe and their relation to one another.”

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘Birth of a New Age’ speech, he says “I would like to suggest some things that we must do to live in this new world, to prepare to live in it, the challenges that control us.  The first thing is this, that we must rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns, with a broader concern for all humanity.  You see this is a new world of geographic togetherness.  No individual can afford to live alone now.”

           I wholeheartedly believe this to be true.  That it’s the answer we’ve all been searching for, and it’s been right under our noses all along.  If we would only slow down a minute and take a breath, it would be obvious that We are One. 

Time tells us that this is not an easy to do.  Tribalism is everywhere.  So we must be proactive, and practice daily.  When the urge comes to fault others, we can start by asking ourselves a simple question suggested by Plato, “Am I not possibly like them?”

Epictetus, a freed slave turned philosopher, when asked what one should do when wronged by his brother responded, “every situation has two handles, one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t.  If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead use the other, that he is your brother, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.”

Seneca, a Roman statesman and Stoic philosopher says, “ Only one thing can bring us peace - a compact of mutual good nature.”

Marcus Aurelius reminded himself over and over in his personal journal that, “we are made for each other, and to serve a common good.”   He says, “revere the gods and look after each other”, and “you’ve been made by nature for the purpose of working with others, teach or endure them.”

          The idea of Sympatheia is simple.  But, can we commit to love our neighbor as ourselves?  Can we share this earth, in all its beauty and wonder with our fellow brothers and sisters?  Can we choose peace and love over strife and bitterness?  I believe so. 

The Golden Rule- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you- cannot be just lip service any longer.  That’s not good enough.  We must consciously strive to live by that tenet. 

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continues his call to action with these words.   “We must conquer the hate of the old age and the love of the new age and go into the new age with love that is understanding for all people.  To have with it a forgiving attitude. It has with it something that will cause you to look deep down within every person and see within them something of Godliness.  That something that will cause you to stand up before them, and love them.” 

Let us, pickup his mission to create “a beloved community.”  Where, in the words of the Dalai Lama, “we all are part of the human community and have the responsibility to benefit that community.  We should take a more active role in helping society by employing whatever talents and abilities we possess to help others.  For if the human community is happy and at peace, we all benefit.”

          We are One.