bursting our bubbles

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heard has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” (Paolo Coelho, The Alchemist)

Most of us exist on a day-to-day basis in perceived bubbles of security. We use daily rituals and routines, financial responsibilities, and the need to “succeed” in some universal (ie: financial) sense of the word as an excuse for sticking to our daily grind. Deep down, we are aware that this bubble represents only a thin layer, a false boundary, between our hearts and the world. Although we present others with our striking independence, we are constantly doubtful and lonely… unsure of our place in the world, yet knowing we will not be content to merely float about in this solitary bubble for our entire lives.

We fear the “other”, believing that the world which exists outside of our thin scope and belief system will somehow shatter our spirit. We fear what could happen to our secure lives if we actually journeyed to experience the world. One cannot truly experience the world as a traditional vacationer, as a wandering spirit. A true experience of the world can only be achieved by living with a people, by learning to respect and even cherish their culture (both the negative and positive aspects), by developing a compassionate awareness of their suffering, and by bearing witness to their hardships and successes as if they are one’s own. Developing an awareness of the amount of suffering and injustice in this world WILL shatter one’s spirit… many times. It takes great courage and a willing to delve into the dark corners of humanity. However, in these dark places… in the places where people toil day in and day out simply to survive… on the fringes of our broken world… exists boundless beauty, stoic hope, and an unparalleled faith in community and brotherhood.

Part of our fear of truly experiencing unknown cultures must be rooted in our knowledge that, on a very deep and primal level, we are all the same, we are all one. If every person in our world could experience the power of the undercurrent of humanity, our delusions of a perfection and individuality would be thrown into the unknown winds; leading to a chaotic yet delightful rollercoaster of being and doing, of learning about other ways of the world, of shattering preconceived notions of individuality and sowing the seeds of a worldwide personal responsibility for the well-being of ALL people.

Somewhere, deep within each of us, is a cry waiting to burst forth, a cry of unity and of anguish in response to the injustices of this world. The injustices which, without action, we aid in perpetuation while fueling the vicious cycle of poverty which keeps the downtrodden silent and invisible. From this same place comes a humming harmony (some call this harmonic hum God, but I truly haven’t decided yet, so in my musician’s mind, I’ll refer to it as a ‘hum’) which goes beyond words and formalities, beyond imaginary borders, beyond angry and vengeful governments, and beyond the gap between those who “have” (but often lack in wisdom and spirituality, and a real sense of community) and those who struggle simply to live (who are rich in being with each other, in the depth and bonds of relationships, and often with an unfaltering faith and generosity in the face of inhumane amounts of hardship)… a harmony which moves through the unspoken language of all living things, whispering, simply “love.”

Although paying heed to this ‘hum’ and loving all can be extremely trying and at times downright exhausting- one begins to realize that if every person treated each other in reverence to the ‘hum,’ to the innate harmony so easily disregarded in the face of selfish fear and power, we would have, rather than a consistently increasing amount of suffering and injustice, a literal heaven on earth.