Totality (Thoughts based on a Zen Meditation card illustration)

Totality: A metaphor for interconnectedness

The three trapeze artists, one held by her partner as she reaches for her teammate swinging toward her from the opposite direction, are a fitting image of totality. This image conveys the interconnectedness of all human existence, perhaps even of all reality.

But how often do we forget the old adage, attributed to Benjamin Franklin: "If we do not hang together, we will hang separately"? Some segments of society feel independent of others, perhaps the so-called "independently wealthy" or even those who have had a prolonged personal history of living in a secure home with comfortable enough means. They might feel like they have no connection with the destitute who live hours away.

But I was recently reminded of our interconnectedness when I passed a middle-aged couple walking with an elderly lady at a nearby shopping mall. She hobbled along with her cane in one hand and her arm crooked into the arm of her son. Her features bore witness to their kinship. She was miniaturized and stooped with age. The son was being very tender with her as they window shopped along with the daughter-in-law.

At my age, when I see a scene like that, I think of my own pending old age. Not only mine but the inevitability that all people face. Just as we all once needed caregivers at the beginning of our lives, we all will need someone at the end. And in between childhood and old age, we actually all, at one time or another, need help.

This realization casts a solemn pall of humility over me. But it also gives me a sense of purpose. I hope that in some way, I can share my refuge with others who might need it.

(Card image shared with me by my friend, writer Cate Shepherd,)