More on connections

I want to follow up on the theme I brought up yesterday - that of connections. This is a passage from The Busy Soul: Ten-Minute Spiritual Workouts Drawn From Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Terry Bookman:

'A man in a boat began to bore a hole under his seat. When his fellow passengers asked him what he was doing, he answered: What do you care? Am I not boring under my own seat?'
— Leviticus Rabbah

We have practically been weaned on the credo, 'So long as what I do is not hurting anyone else . . .' But we have come to see that there is no such thing as an isolated, atomistic self. The American image of the cowboy riding off by himself into the sunset may work fine in the movies, but it is not real. All of us are connected, one to the other. And our actions inevitably affect other people as well. Many of us are so focused on ourselves that we don't even realize the impact we have on those around us, especially those we love.

What holes have you been boring in your life, thinking, 'It's only my seat'? Are you willing to take a look at how they are affecting the lives of others, especially the ones you love?

We really are all in the same boat. Both realizing that today and expressing it are profoundly counter-cultural. That doesn't mean it's not true.