Belonging is Unity in Action
Our desire to belong is deep within our human nature. Humans are social animals. We need the support of one another for our individual survival. In the hyper-individualistic society we currently live in, our personal desires might momentarily obscure the need for others, but in fact without others our personal pursuits would be impossible.
...the world of multiplicity does not contradict the world of Unity, for the many live in the One. This concept of Unity is the mystical secret of the ages, the key to spiritual wisdom …
(Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, p.69.2)
Our human urge to belong is not just of physical necessity, but is a spiritual yearning to experience the Unity of the One. Belonging is Unity in action.
Not recognizing and honoring the Unity back of the multiplicity, is the fundamental cause of our society’s ills, like; poverty, violence and abuse, racism, genderism, homophobia, Climate Change and the destruction of a liveable Earth.
We don’t have to look far for stories about the consequences of not living in Unity, and putting limitations on Belonging. At the beginning of the month, on December 1st, we marked two occasions, the first was the anniversary of the day Rosa Park’s boarded a bus and refused to move after the bus driver tried to reassign her seating. An action which became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement.
The roots of racism are in the refusal to see the Unity back of the multiplicity, and our laziness of thought to rest in separation and duality. Rosa Park’s story is a powerful story of knowing she belonged. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to learn more about her, beyond the white-washed story that is commonly shared. Long before that legendary moment on the bus she had been working to advocate for the rights of black Americans. She may not have articulated it as belonging, but she must have known in that sacred fire blazing in her heart, that she belonged. That she was an expression of the Unity back of the multiplicity, with no less importance or purpose for being alive than any other person. Her refusal to acquiesce to the whims of the bus driver, was a profound “yes” to honoring the Oneness of All.
The other occasion honored on December 1st was World AIDS Day, which is dedicated to bringing awareness to AIDS and the spread of the HIV virus, as well as to honor those that have died from the disease. I remember when a mysterious disease started killing men almost as soon as they had gotten sick. I remember the fear people had not knowing what the disease was or how it was being spread. I also remember people in positions of power labeling it a “Gay” disease, and because it was killing members of the socially outcast homosexual community they refused to do anything to stop it. The belief that there is an “other” allowed some people to justify their cruelty, their inhumanity to the sick and dying. The belief in separation and the other, the refusal to act in accordance with the Unity back of the multiplicity can have deadly consequences.
Imagine if we lived in a society that believed in Unity and Oneness of All. Would some people be forcibly stifled to limit the expression of Life moving through them? Would a deadly disease have an opportunity to become a global pandemic? Would we pillage our only home, Earth, merely for our comfort and convenience? Would we be more gracious with others and extend our belonging to them regardless of who they are?
We are moving into a season that invites us to slow down, to reflect on how we are living our lives. It’s a season when we gather with others and celebrate the precious light that illuminates all life. As you experience your own sense of belonging, reflect on how you can extend that same sense of belonging to others. Ask yourself, How can I extend belonging to others, and gift them with the understanding of the Unity back of the multiplicity?
