Free From Separation

Thich Nhat Hahn’s “Emptiness: The Wonder of Interbeing” featured a chapter titled ‘Please Call Me By My True Names’, which discussed the idea of being free from separation at the end. The quote is as follows: “When we can free ourselves from the idea of separateness, we have compassion, we have understanding, and we have the energy we need to help” (pg 20). This quote grabbed my attention because it has so much truth and depth. When I read this quote, I think about everything that is going on in the world. There are still so many issues with accepting people for who they are, whether it is about race, culture, religion, sexuality, social class, etc. America is called the melting pot, but even if we have all this diversity and mixture of cultures, there is still so much hatred toward others. I think that we can learn a lot by freeing ourselves from the idea that we are so different or separate. There is no reason why I need to be hateful towards a different religion, race, sexuality, or social class just because it isn’t what I believe in. We should be willing to accept people for who they want to be, just like how we want others to accept us for who we want to be.