Interdependence

I came across an interesting quotation by Karl Popper, an Austrian born philosopher of science who lived from 1902 - 1994. What he says here describes the meditative principle of cause and effect and interdependence:

Before we as individuals are even conscious of our existence we have been profoundly influenced for a considerable time (since before birth) by our relationship to other individuals who have complicated histories, and are members of a society which has an infinitely more complicated and longer history than they do (and are members of it at a particular time and place in that history); and by the time we are able to make conscious choices we are already making use of categories in a language which has reached a particular degree of development through the lives of countless generations of human beings before us. . . . We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong.

This principle can help us have compassion on ourselves and also help us to let go of false pride. Whatever personality of character difficulties we have, we undoubtedly came by them honestly. Yes, we need to work on those things but it is both unskillful and inappropriate to condemn ourselves for them. Likewise we did not come by our positive qualities all by ourselves so this recognition of interdependence can also bring us to a state of gratitude. And practicing gratitude is the best mood enhancer going! You want to be happy? Practice gratitude every day, many times a day. It works.