Think often of the bond that unites all things in the universe, and their dependence upon one another. All are, as it were, interwoven, and in consequence linked in mutual affection; because their orderly succession is brought about by the operation of the currents of tension, and the unity of all substance.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book Six
I'll be heading off to volunteer at the Food Shelf in a couple minutes, and it's during that time period that I feel this passage above most directly. A bad break here or there, horrible untimely news during a doctor's visit, a wreck caused by glancing down to change the radio, and I could change places with our customers at the FS in an instant. We are one community. Somehow along the way we've lost sight of this great truism, partially because of intellectual and spiritual laziness and partially because of agents such as Trump or Fox News which gain power and wealth by generating division and hatred. As I've said before, when I think of the Divine I think of the kindness at the heart of all things, because, with few exceptions, that is the common lot of all humans, until we are taught, too willingly, to hate others.
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