“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” — Chief Seattle
We are not islands. We all breathe the same air, drink the same rain, stand upon the same earth. We are threads in a vast web of life, entangled and woven in one another’s choices.
When an impulsive decision to go out to see friends during lockdown might mean an infant grows up not knowing their grandparents, our connectedness becomes obvious.
The shared experience of the coronavirus pandemic brought us closer as communities even as it forced us into isolation. Our phones and computers went from being competitors for human contact to their medium. They connected us again, and became important playgrounds of homespun global collaboration and creativity.
Just as wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park unexpectedly changed the courses of rivers, we cannot possibly know all of the knock-on effects that will arise from this extraordinarily unusual change in the rhythms and patterns of our world.
But we do know that every story of unexpected interaction, kindness and generosity helps to further illuminate how connected we all are — and has the potential to inspire a hundred more acts of courage and beauty (just as 99-year-old Captain Tom’s fundraising effort for healthcare workers sparked hundreds of other wild and wondrous efforts).
Our actions matter. Like ripples in a pond they spread out and have far-reaching consequences. Everything, and everyone, is connected. And it will only be by standing shoulder-to-shoulder that we will be able to create a world equal in opportunities, in which everyone has the chance to shine.
#EverythingIsConnected
#BuildBackBetter
#NewNormal
Beautiful questions:
What act from a stranger most inspired you in your life, and what did it inspire you to do?
What act of beautiful mischief or courageous vulnerability are you going to take, safe in the knowledge that it will have impacts far beyond our understanding?
Artwork by @IrisMaertens
We are not islands. We all breathe the same air, drink the same rain, stand upon the same earth. We are threads in a vast web, entangled and woven in one another’s choices. Thanks, #Covid19, for the reminder. Time to build a #NewNormal #BuildBackBetter #Everythingisconnected pic.twitter.com/javlyHCQZO
— WeWereMadeForTheseTimes (@WeWereMade4) June 11, 2020
