Aspens Teach Us Oneness

I’ve been thinking of oneness — the concept that all living creatures are just different facets of the same jewel or just different parts of the same organism. This is a concept that many resist because we don’t want to think that we’re the same as our enemies, pets, or food. Understandable. And yet, that doesn’t keep it from being true.

According to Wikipedia, The largest single living organism is thought to be a colony of quaking aspens in Utah. Above ground, we see individual trees, but underground they are all connected through the same root system – all one organism.

What if people are the same way? We think we are individuals, but we are joined at the soul in one large entity? What if animals are just another shoot from the tree – and another piece of the soul? Would we treat them differently if we knew we were one? Would we still turn away from those in need?

Everywhere we look today, we find people searching for their tribe, family, or kindred spirits. People seem to be hardwired to have a need to belong. What if what we were searching for was the feeling of oneness – knowing and accepting that we are all connected? What if we are all part of the same being, and it is just our belief that we are separate that makes us feel alone?