Humans are divided into different clans and tribes, and belong to countries and towns. But I find myself a stranger to all communities and belong to no settlement. The universe is my country and the human family is my tribe. ~Kahlil Gibran
I shared this quote on Facebook 4 years ago today. It seemed timely with world events. I also shared a graphic I created to try to help two deeply divided groups see less of a divide between them. The image was grossly misunderstood and I ended up taking it off Facebook. The irony isn’t lost on me. I tried to show less divisiveness and I accidentally created something that exposed the differences and widened the gap that I was trying to reduce.
Think for a moment about how borders divide us; how cultures divide us; how religions divide us; how politics divides us. Yet diversity makes us stronger; it teaches us to be tolerant; it enriches our experience.
What if we invested time and energy into the idea that, ‘the human family is my tribe’?
This reminds me again of the Sanskrit quote, “वसुधैव कुटुंबकम्”, which means that all the living beings on this Earth are parts of a family. We all — humans, animals, creatures — are related to one another.