Connections. . .
We are living in the most connected period in human history, yet there has never been a time before when people felt as isolated as we do.
Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all, in a sense, dependent on each other — and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just like we depend on the sun, the sea and the air, we also depend on other people. We are social beings with an inherent need to connect with others. And, contrary to what many of us think, money can only buy us short-lasting substitutes of what we’re actually looking for.
Yes, we can pay someone to prepare for us a good meal, but would that be the same as a meal prepared by someone who sincerely cares for us? Yes, we can pay a band to play music for us, but would that be the same as a beloved one serenading us?
I can mention a lot of things here, but I think that at the root of our loneliness lies the cultural belief that we don’t depend on each other. This belief is mainly the result of our modern-day socioeconomic system, which is driven by profit and is largely based on the conversion of relationships into paid services. In this system, most of us are conditioned to think that we can purchase everything we need, without having to form relationships or ties to other people.
I’m sure that everyone deep down knows the answer to those questions: Money can’t buy us connection. But our belief that we don’t need each other has made us stray away from what’s truly important to us. Once we realize that as truth, we’ll start reaching out to other people and begin working together on creating new social systems that will help us build bridges between our hearts, instead of walls all around them.
Peace and Love, Jim
#connections #thedailybuddha
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