We’re All Interconnected and Interrelated
“We all are so deeply interconnected; we have no option but to love all. Be kind and do good for any one and that will be reflected. The ripples of the kind heart are the highest blessings of the Universe,” so declared Amit Ray. In the words of Ian Frazier, “Human connection is the way things work. It’s like a patronage system. You know somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows the district governor, and it’s okay.” Let’s reflect on humans as interconnected and interrelated beings.
Do you know that humans despite their perception are connected and interrelated to each other? If you have social media accounts, for instance, one of the things you would observe is that you have a number of mutual friends while your friends are friends to some people you don’t know. People you know know people you don’t know while people you don’t know know people you know. Like a cobweb, humans are all interconnected and interrelated. When we call the world a global village, it may not only be true technologically but also true in the context that, like the village, the dwellers are related to each other. That might have been why an Annang proverb counsels, “Don’t throw stone into the market square because you can’t be certain which of your relatives is there.” Unfortunately, certain questions still beg for answers: Why do we envy each other if we’re aware that the person we’re envying may be connected to us or someone we know and might even unknowingly be the source of support or help to us or someone we cherish? Why do we treat people in the street as if they are aliens when in essence they may be the ones that directly or indirectly contribute to our wellbeing through a relation, a friend or a friend’s friend? The fact remains that many humans are ignorant of how the interrelationship among humans have made them victims or beneficiaries of their actions.
So, explore ways to live with the mindset of not hurting, cheating or maltreating anybody. Reject the temptation to let geograpical location, political affiliation or religious inclination make you overlook the need to radiate love and kindness to fuel the fire of treasured human connections. As Monika Kaul said, “Imagine the ripple effect of a simple greeting. A warm smile, a friendly hello – a spark of human connection that can illuminate a stranger’s day, perhaps even their entire journey.” Let your consciousness of how humans are interrelated make you overcome the temptation to deliver poor services to others. Always have it at the back of your mind that the potential victim or beneficiary of your action may be an unknown relative, a friend’s friend or relative or your future friends. As Jackie Chan stated, “We live now in a global village and we are in one single family. It’s our responsibility to bring friendship and love from all different places around the world and to live together in peace.”
As you step out, make up your mind to be nice to one another. Give people you meet on the street the best treatment you can. Unknown to you, you or someone you know may be the ultimate beneficiary. Hear Rachel Tara: “When we help another, we are helped. If we harm another, we harm ourselves. Perhaps harder to grasp – if we harm ourselves, we harm the whole universe.”
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Dr. (Engr.) Esang Esitikot is a COREN-registed chemical engineer, an HSE professional, a public affairs analyst, marriage counsellor, youth mentor and volunteer lecturer at the Institute of Health, Safety, Security and Environment, University of Uyo. He works for an international oil company and can be contacted via 08035103559 (Whatsapp only).
