“The earth is undivided. India and Pakistan and England and Germany exist only on maps, and those maps are created by the politicians, the power-mad people. This whole earth is yours. There is no need to identify with anything. Why become confined to small territories? Why be confined by politics? Claim the whole heritage of the earth. It is your earth. Be a planetary being rather than a national one. Forget about India and England and think of the whole globe. Think of each and everyone as brothers and sisters; they are!”
Osho, Everyday Osho (Page 173)
“Famously tall [Redwood trees], you’d think that they need deep roots to survive, but in fact their roots are shallow. What gives the trees resilience is that these roots spread widely. Redwoods best thrive in groves, interweaving their roots so the strong and weak together withstand the forces of nature.”
Jay Shetty, Think Like A Monk (Page 223)
“Your problems aren’t that unique. Your nature isn’t that unique. Your personal stuff isn’t that unique. In fact, it is universal. We are all people struggling the same way, we are all people with the same capacities and dignity and worth. Let’s celebrate that. Come together over that.”
Ryan Holiday
“All that brings unification to people is goodness and beauty; all that brings separation among them is evil. All people know this: it is firmly inscribed on our hearts.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 206)
Alicia Keys Quote on Perfection and Being Okay With Our Imperfect Reality
“I tend to want every person to embody the best of humanity—for all of us to be givers and builders and dreamers. That’s not reality. At different seasons in life, we each fall into various categories. Even still, every one of us also has a strong behavioral tendency, and that is okay. I’m coming to terms with the fact that so-called perfection—this idea that everything should be beautiful and in order at all times—is just not going to happen.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 254)
Beyond the Quote (Day 386)
And as she says in her song, Authors of Forever, “Wherever you are, it’s alright / Whoever you are, it’s alright.” It’s okay to be who you are, where you are on your journey. None of us are perfect and we all lead imperfect lives. Expect perfection from someone—anyone—and you’ll always end up disappointed. Expect imperfection and you’ll at least be able to meet people where they are. Disappointment leads to emotional distancing and separation. Understanding leads to emotional advancing and connection.
Read More »Alicia Keys Quote on Perfection and Being Okay With Our Imperfect Reality“True love has no object. Many speak of their unconditional love for another. Unconditional love is the experience of being; there is no ‘I’ and ‘other,’ and anyone or anything it touches is experienced in love. You cannot unconditionally love someone. You can only be unconditional love. It is not a dualistic emotion. It is a sense of oneness with all that is. The experience of love arises when we surrender our separateness into the universal. It is a feeling of unity. You don’t love another, you are another. There is no fear because there is no separation.”
Stephen Levine, Who Dies?, via Sunbeams (Page 15)
Humans [Book]
Book Overview: Brandon Stanton created Humans of New York in 2010. What began as a photographic census of life in New York City, soon evolved into a storytelling phenomenon. A global audience of millions began following HONY daily. Over the next several years, Stanton broadened his lens to include people from across the world. Traveling to more than forty countries, he conducted interviews across continents, borders, and language barriers. Humans is the definitive catalogue of these travels. The faces and locations will vary from page to page, but the stories will feel deeply familiar. Told with candor and intimacy, Humans will resonate with readers across the globe―providing a portrait of our shared experience.
Buy from Amazon! Not on Audible…
Great on Kindle. Great Experience. Great Value. The Kindle edition of this book comes highly recommended on Amazon.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
Will Smith Quote from Collateral Beauty on How We’re Here to Connect.
“We’re here to connect. Love, time, death. Now these three things connect every single human being on earth. We long for love, we wish we had more time and we fear death.”
Howard Inlet (Will Smith), Collateral Beauty
Beyond the Quote (325/365)
If I take a piece of paper and I draw a line down the center of it, you might say that it’s divided. You might say there is a left side and a right side. But, a simple line doesn’t change the fact that the sides are still part of the paper. They are not suddenly separate entities unto themselves—they are still a part of a whole. If I rip the paper down that line, you might say that the paper is now divided for sure. But, even if you were to rip the paper 1,000 times, each piece is still united in its essence—that it’s paper. From one perspective, division; from the other perspective, unity—even in the face of division.
Read More »Will Smith Quote from Collateral Beauty on How We’re Here to Connect.An Empowering Short Story from John Lewis’ Memoire on Saving His Aunt’s House (and How We Might Save Ours, Too)
Excerpt: In this powerful story, John Lewis recounts a time when a terrible storm threatened his aunt’s house and how he and those around him saved it.
Read More »An Empowering Short Story from John Lewis’ Memoire on Saving His Aunt’s House (and How We Might Save Ours, Too)
Lyrics and Meaning of Waiting Room By Logic — The Sneak Attack Track That Went Deep
Excerpt: The sneak attack of a track on Logic’s 2017 album, Everybody, that got everybody thinking about life, death, interconnectedness, and unity. Let’s look at the lyrics and deeper meaning of Waiting Room by Logic.
Read More »Lyrics and Meaning of Waiting Room By Logic — The Sneak Attack Track That Went Deep
Quote about Ubuntu and How We Are All Connected
Beyond the Quote (103/365)
Once, an anthropologist proposed a game to kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first would win the entire basket. When he gave them the signal to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together. Once they arrived at the tree, they sat in a circle and enjoyed the fruits together. When he asked them why they chose to run as a group when they could have raced against each other for the whole basket, one child spoke up and said, “UBUNTU—how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”
Read More »Quote about Ubuntu and How We Are All Connected27 Deep Quotes on Unity, Interconnectedness, and How We Are One
Excerpt: There are countless things that divide us. But, what divides us is secondary to what unites us. Read our 27 quotes on unity to learn more.
Read More »27 Deep Quotes on Unity, Interconnectedness, and How We Are One
Rob Dyer Quote on Staying Focused On The Right Things—Things That Bring Us Together
“At the end of the day, you can either focus on what’s tearing you apart, or what’s holding you together.”
Rob Dyer
Beyond the Quote (74/365)
There is a lot happening right now that can make us feel like we’re being torn apart. With the threat and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there is more and more happening each day that is moving us further and further apart and into smaller and smaller groups (even into isolation). Everything from the biggest organizational gatherings in the world to the most remote meetings in our own backyard are being postponed and cancelled to prevent the spread of the virus. During this time when we are being forced apart physically, we need to find ways to continue to come together mentally and emotionally.
Read More »Rob Dyer Quote on Staying Focused On The Right Things—Things That Bring Us Together“But really, all we want, and I speak for the entire human race here, is contact. Someone to let us know that we aren’t alone. That the world isn’t a dream and you and I really are happening at the same time, even if it’s not in the same place. That this is real. You’re really there. I’m really here. We’re real. This is real.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“We’re here to connect. Love, time, death. Now these three things connect every single human being on earth. We long for love, we wish we had more time and we fear death.” ~ Howard Inlet (Will Smith), Collateral Beauty
