Our Circles of Belonging

Our suffering lies in the illusion of separateness, a mistaken identity far too small and bounded. We cling to cultural divisions, erecting barriers between us and them. Yet we are all one body, interconnected strands in the vast tapestry of creation.

The dualistic mind entraps us, reducing reality to binary opposites. We choose sides, asserting our superiority over the perceived other. This limited thinking cannot forge unity; it only breeds hatred and conflict across generations.

Even within faiths meant to unite, we find division. The Eucharist was intended to remind Christians of our shared identity as the body of Christ. We have distorted it, a prize for perfection rather than balm for our universal human frailty.

Our real sickness is this sense of apartness from one another and from the sacred whole. All people, all faiths, all forms of life pulsate with the same divine essence. The other we reject is simply another face of the one we truly are.

To be liberated, we must allow our identities to expand, our circles of belonging to widen. A unitive consciousness beckons, a dawning awareness of our fundamental oneness in Love. Only then can we dismantle the walls between us and walk as kin on this suffering yet sacred earth.

(adopted from: Christena Cleveland, Disunity in Christ; Richard Rohr, Unity and Diversity;  Essential Teachings on Love)