The Only Thing That Divides Humanity
There are no boundaries other than those we create
My son was five when we lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Every night in KL, our son’s bedtime ritual was the same. As the sun set low in the sky, we would listen to the beautiful tones of the local mullah calling people to sunset prayer. We referred to him as our Goodnight Angel.
As this exquisite sound of devotion echoed around our neighborhood, we would wander up to the bedroom with our son, tuck him up in his blankets with a big cuddle, and kiss him goodnight.
By the time our son was five, he had lived in three countries — New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia; he had vacationed in Indonesia and Brunei, and had toured Europe and the UK. So, I guess it was not surprising that, one night, my young son looked up from his pillow and asked a seemingly simple question.
“Mum, why are there countries?”
Trust a young child to question the things we are too to distracted to ponder.
“Um”, I replied. “I guess that when a group of people are similar, they like to put a boundary around themselves and say ‘Look, we are the same. And we are different from you’”.
It took him less than a second to respond. “But that doesn’t make sense!” he demanded. “We are New Zealanders but we live in Malaysia. And when we lived in Singapore, I was the same person I am now. The country I live in doesn’t change who I am.”
And then the wisdom of a five year old boy, not tarnished by prejudice nor molded by politics. “I think the Earth should just be one, big country”, he offered. “And then it wouldn’t matter where you live, you would just be accepted for who you are on the inside.”
Isn’t it sad that we have learned differently. We have been taught that the only way to exist is to categorize ourselves and others based on nationality, gender, faith, sexual orientation, political preference … and so on. And once we identify with a group, we are told to place a boundary — a label — around ourselves and declare “We are the same. And we are different from you”.
But, take a moment to reflect through the eyes of a young boy and you will see that where you stand in this jigsaw puzzle of identities does not define you. If you were to move — from one country to another, from one political sphere to another, from one faith to another, from one gender to another — it would not, in any way, alter who you are.
If your heart is light and full of love, this will not change. If you are lost and bitter, this will not change. If you seek the good in others, this will not change. If you are inquisitive, creative, impatient, bold, compassionate, disconnected, rambunctious, serious or shy … the identities you align with (whether through birth or through choice) will not and cannot change this essence of you.
On the contrary. It is who you are that determines how you express the identities you align with.
So, please, take it from a wise five year old boy. There are no borders on Earth, other than the ones we have invented on paper. And there are no divides between people, other than the ones we have learned to accept and perpetuate. Division is not real. It is something we create in our minds.
Imagine if we could learn to understand that …
Kim Forrester is an award-winning author, educator and intuitive consultant with over 15 years’ experience as a professional intuitive and spiritual teacher. She combines cutting edge science with traditional spirituality to offer the latest understandings of psi, consciousness and holistic well being.
