Seeking Unity

We are a society of extremes. Looking all around us, we see that people tend to believe that things are either right or wrong, left or right, black or white. We may accept that gray areas exist, but in practice we hesitate in finding truth from all sides. Perhaps one person’s belief seems opposite to my own, but does that mean that his/her position is unsubstantiated? We can see this exemplified in many areas, including religion and politics and there is only one way to come out of it. We must be able to accept that another person’s viewpoint is useful to them at that given point in time whether we understand it or not.

A wise man I had the pleasure of knowing for many years used the analogy of a clock to explain how observers positioned at various points around the clock (let’s say at each hour) have a slightly different viewpoint from each other. The greatest difference in observation comes from two individuals positioned at opposite points of the clock, such as 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock. They can both see the same thing, which is the clock, but one may be looking south and the other north. Their perspectives are different and may even appear to be opposite. However, the truth (the clock) remains the same. Hence, we can see that based on our individual observations and experiences we may be seeing different aspects of the truth. None of the observers is wrong, but none of them see exactly the same thing. In fact, the position each is in is useful to them at the time because they are learning something from it.

I find that this example is very clarifying and demonstrates that we can discover truths on both sides (or all sides for that matter) of a discussion or debate, even one as debatable as the question of who or what has created us. This important question is one that we have asked ourselves at one point or another. We justifiably want to understand where we came from and who can blame us? This curiosity in knowing how we came to exist is important because it sets the stage for understanding aspects of ourselves, our purpose, and what awaits us, which helps to determine the choices that we make in our lives.

For example, we all know about the two most popular theories that attempt to explain our existence. One of them, viewed as religious and the other scientific. It is said we were either created by an intelligent being, commonly called God or we evolved from an explosion of gasses referred to as the Big Bang. But what if it isn’t just one or the other? What if the essence of the religious belief in God and the theory of the Big Bang are both substantiated? What if the Big Bang is one manifestation of God being viewed from our human angle? #origenofuniverse

If we look at the world scientifically, we come to understand that the universe is too grand for us to fully understand. The more that is discovered, the more scientists realize how little we do know. And if we look at the world from a spiritual perspective, we accept that God is eternal and universal. Again, we do not have the capacity to fully understand what that means. In both instances we are speaking of something greater than us and therefore, we must assume there is much more to learn. Taking a closer look, another similarity emerges. Both science and spirituality talk about energy. Science tells us that everything is made up of energy and spirituality tells us that God is energy and if God is everywhere, then energy is also everywhere.

Therefore, we can consider that God and the energy of the Universe are the same thing and that we are simply looking at the same truth from different angles. But to see this further, we must be open enough to try and understand the other side. Positioning oneself in extremes can bring divisiveness as one side will always be considered right while another is seen as wrong. On the contrary, openness can lead to Unity, since it allows us to consider and even find similarities, although all parties may finally decide that they don’t necessarily agree with one other at that time, and that is okay. We don’t always have to agree. At any point in time, I may be standing at the 1 o’clock mark and you at the 5 o’clock mark. That is the beauty of diversity since it allows for an assortment of perspectives, which provides us with more insight. Most importantly, it would be taking a step towards accepting and understanding that there is always more to learn. This will open the path to greater truths one step at a time. Essentially, our eternal path is to experience the entire clock and observe and analyze all possible perspectives (truths) of the clock to fully understand the whole picture.

The beginning of Unity starts with each one of us by observing and acknowledging our subtle contributions to divisiveness. We can individually reflect on the times we have considered others' beliefs to be strange, crazy or plainly wrong. We can also contemplate how their life experiences have led them to have different perspectives and alternate ways of defining their truth. The understanding and tolerance of these divergent positions can begin when I can accept that others are simply looking at life and the same truth from a different angle than mine and that all of our positions will inevitably evolve. #Oneness