We often act as though we’re separate from one another and from God. This mistaken sense of separateness is at the root of most of our unkind actions and attitudes. When we think of ourselves as disconnected, we start prioritizing our own protection, defending ourselves against imagined threats, and building walls. This need to protect the “little self” drives us away from love and unity. We have never been separate from God except in our thoughts, but our thoughts don’t make it true! Jesus reminds us through the parable of the vine and the branches that we are, in reality, deeply connected—to God, to others, and to our true selves. Acting in union means living out of compassion and respect, seeing ourselves as one. It’s our choice to remain in this union, always available through love.
May we live in the awareness
of our deep and inseparable connection to God,
to one another, and to our true selves,
choosing compassion and unity in all we do.
(inspired by Richard Rohr, The Illusion of a Separate Self)