On Being One With the Universe, Or Maybe Humanity, Or Maybe I Just Can't Think Straight

[rockinlibrarian]

I keep trying to write blog entries and then my brain gets so tangled up with everything I might want to say that it never happens, so if all else fails, today I just want to leave you with one of my favorite verses of lyrics to ponder upon:

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no one calls us to move on
And no one forces down our eyes
No one speaks
And no one tries
No one flies around the sun*
--"Echoes," Pink Floyd, 1971
(*this is what the official lyrics say, but I've always heard it as "no one climbs above the sighs," which I find much more poignant and meaningful, so if you want you can read it my way instead.)

A much shorter song lyric that says basically the same thing is "I am he as you are he and you are me and we are all together," except vaguer and not ending with the sad disconnect of the connection almost made but not. Well, maybe "See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly. I'm crying," covers that territory just fine.

Anyway, I'm thinking about namaste, or seeing Christ in everyone you meet, whichever religious spin you want to give it. The feeling, the understanding, the TRUTH that we're all connected, there's a part of the Divine in each of us. I'd like to write about friendship, and about friendship that stretches across geography, about Internet-friendship, and Internet etiquette, and remembering that the person on the other side of the Internet is a person just like you, flawed and yet divine, fearful and yet worthy, and remembering that the people you only see on TV or read about in magazines are people just like you, too, and remembering even that the people you see every DAY in real life, well, they're all part of the same thing. Not humanity. "Humanity" sounds serious and impersonal. They're all people. Sad people, broken people, beautiful people, divine people. Each one unique. Each one irreplaceable. Each one part of all of us.

But I don't have the mental energy to expound on this today, so instead I'll just leave it here. What do you think of when you hear these lyrics? What do you feel when you think of namaste? Do you feel connections to other people, or do they feel unreachable, unfathomable? Don't be shy: I genuinely want to hear your thoughts. Yes, YOU. Who did you think I was talking about? I MEAN YOU.

Comments

Humanity

[kate-coombs.livejournal.com]

Makes me think of e.e. cummings, at least the song lyric you mention after the Pink Floyd one. Have you ever listened to "Strangers in a Car" by Annie Lennox? It melds the idea of "never talk to strangers" with the idea of "strangers in the night." Which is true? Are they both true?

Anyway, I say this to myself in the form of a very cryptic phrase, "Everybody's everybody." Meaning that each person is uniquely him- or herself and matters. Or sometimes when someone bugs me I remind myself, "He used to be a kindergartner."

I agree that we are all connected and all have the Divine within. Thanks for bringing this up!

Re: Humanity

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Oh that IS very e.e. cummings! It's also the Beatles, "I Am the Walrus." But I have not heard "Strangers in a Car."

Speaking of my dad's record collection-- indirectly-- I was going through his huge boxes of 45s once and found-- I think it was an indie record label, that just had a random "Everything is Everything" written on it (as neither the song, artist, or label name). It amused me at the time, but it really is more like an even broader way of saying "Everybody's everybody." THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS.

I really like "he used to be a kindergartener." But then, I live with a kindergartener who CAN be the most obnoxious person in my life at times. But he used to be my tiny baby!

[drewandian.livejournal.com]

remembering that the people you only see on TV or read about in magazines are people just like you, too
This. This.right.here. (get ready for a geek moment) 3 years ago I went all the way to LA to see my absolute fave actress from a sci fi show I was totally in love with in a stage production of "Much Ado About Nothing" (one of my fave plays btw). And I was all flaily and it was amazing and I GOT TO MEET HER!!!! And talk to her and get her autograph and a pic with her. A few months later, I saw her again at a sci fi con in MD. And I "hung out" with her and some online friends I'd met at the con and watched the final World Cup game with her. The last night of the con she agreed to have drinks with us (I also got conversation, teasing, joking, autographs and absolutely amazing hugs that weekend). What struck me the most during our evening of sharing drinks and a smoke and tons of conversation was how NORMAL she was. I was so totally star struck and here she was gushing about how much she appreciated the fans like us because she realizes that without us she'd have no career. And about how she was headed back home to CA to deal with house repairs that she couldn't really afford and how she missed her dog and other "normal" people things. Her normalcy put things into perspective for me in a big way. It was an amazing experience and I have blog posts about both meetings if you're interested in reading them....

Anyway, probably not what you were looking for but that line just brought this to mind. And it's 1:20 am and I have to get up for work and my brain is fried so I'm not sure how much sense I'm making....

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Nah, that IS pretty much what I'm looking for-- well, one of the somethings. I've found myself angrier than I used to get at tabloids, their "OMG GUESS WHO HAS CELLULITE!" headlines, it's like WHY can't you let people BE? And just yesterday-- this didn't inspire me to post this post, but it definitely added to the swirling thoughts I was having-- I found out about a Tumblr whose sole purpose is to take popular people or things and POINT OUT EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THEM, and it's just so NEGATIVE. WHY would someone set out just to tear down love? It's awful. And there's like a gang mentality about celebrities or show runners or authors or public figures in general on the internet, in fandoms, one person will take one out-of-context comment or theme in a work or something and turn it into OMG HOW AWFUL THIS PERSON IS, WE MUST NOT SUPPORT ANY MORE, and then you can't say anything GOOD about them without someone being "BUT THEY DID THIS" and I'm like, SERIOUSLY. If they were a person in your everyday life-- if they were YOU-- would you reject them over a few out-of-context disagreements? And while there are SOME celebrities who are truly Professional Celebrities, who got into reality TV or something just to revel in Being Famous, MOST celebrities are famous for DOING something, and they got into that something just because it's something they love and they're good at it-- it's just a trick of fate-- and hard work-- that makes them famous. But I could be a famous writer someday, and I'll KNOW I'm really Just Me. I'm sure most famous people feel they're really Just Them, too.