*
Unity
There are two definitions for unity. The first is related to oneness. While people often emphasize individuality and uniqueness, a deeper truth unites us all. We share the same species, the same Earth, and the same universal quest for purpose. Acknowledging our commonalities, we unveil the unifying thread that binds us as a global comm-unity.
Within this community, kindness and empathy take precedence. Behind the façades of perfection and composure, each person confronts distinctly human challenges. We all grapple with existential dread and the unpredictable nature of life. Recognizing our shared struggles encourages us to support and befriend one another. Together, we can find the strength to collectively weather life’s storms.
The other definition of unity is concerned with personal harmony and congruence. Unity with oneself calls for being the same person on the inside and outside. It calls for aligning one’s beliefs and values with one’s actions. It is not enough to merely profess benevolence, honesty, justice, and prudence; one must exemplify these qualities through their behaviors. In a state of inner and outer unity, authenticity reigns supreme.
Together, we discover the power to transcend differences, extend mutual support, and cultivate a world grounded in compassion and friendship. Embracing unity within yourself and the surrounding world can lead to genuine transformation.
*
Kind people help each other even without noticing that they are doing so, and evil people act against each other on purpose.
Chinese proverb
“Two separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise.”
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
“Without friends, no one would want to live, even if he had all other goods.”
Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits
Ubuntu:
(African)
I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am.
“Friends… they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.”
Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from A Birmingham Jail
As human civilization advances and small tribes unite into larger societies, it becomes clear that people should instinctively broaden their social and sympathetic inclinations to encompass all members of their own nation, even if they are not personally acquainted.
Once individuals recognize this, the only thing artificially hindering their capacity to extend these sympathies to people from all nations and races is a barrier of their own making.
Based on the teachings of Charles Darwin
At the end of the game, pawns and kings go back into the same box.
Italian proverb
Whoever is kind to the creatures of God, he is kind to himself.
Prophet Muhammad
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Everything in the universe is interconnected. Within each it is reflected.
Unknown
The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens.
Baha’u’llah
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him.”
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
Malcolm X
“True friends are always together in spirit.”
L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
Luke 6:31, King James Version
⁂
Treat others as you’d like to be treated.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace”
John Lennon, Imagine
In this world, which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way.
Bertrand Russell
In nature, nothing exists alone.
Rachel Carson
A friendship is born when one man says to another, “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
Adapted from C.S. Lewis’s, The Four Loves
The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.
Yasutani Roshi
“Learn how to learn from those you disagree with or even offend you. See if you can find the truth in what they believe.”
Kevin Kelly, Excellent Advice for Living
We cannot separate the observer from the observed, since even the act of observing changes what is being observed.
John Wheeler
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Unknown
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
(The voice of the people is the voice of God.)
Latin proverb
⁂
Don’t underestimate the collective wisdom, opinions, and choices of the people.
Etymological explanation for Unity:
From Latin unitatem, “oneness, sameness, agreement.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Loving Your Enemies
Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.
Alexander the Great
*
Jen Hitze 