With bands of connection swirling around and uniting everything in the infinite blanket of engagement I call Heartspace, it makes sense to acknowledge that humans are not alone. We share endless connections with the universe in countless ways, all reliant and interdependent in so many ways. Like the microbiologist who looks at the human as a superorganism that hosts a multitude of other creatures, the planet we live on is alive as a creature, too, as is the galaxy we live in.
There is a key in understanding that humans are not alone in Heartspace. Given the truly infinite nature of lasting connectivity, acknowledging our engagement with everything around us only enriches our understanding of how all things work in perfect alignment with each other right now in order to create the synchronized ballet that is all existence. Our planet isn’t bouncing off Mars right now because of this alignment; house cats aren’t revolting against their humans for the same reason.
Albert Schweitzer taught us about this in his Nobel Prize address, saying, “The human spirit is not dead. It lives on in secret… It has come to believe that compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.” This is a simple truth of universal engagement: The breadth and depth of humanity lies in our understanding of our universality. Heartspace explains how this is.
Through acknowledging our connections with the Earth, other mamals, insects, reptiles, fishes, and birds, as well as the tender relationships we have with bacteria and other microorganisms, we begin to understand the vastness of Heartspace. I have explained that at the edge of our Spheres of Engagement there are invisible lines that dash off into forever, and this is part of the reason why. There really is no end to how we’re connected, interconnected, dependent and interdependent with the universe. Like marbles rolling across the schoolyard in an old-fashioned kids’ game, Heartspace illustrates our individual reliance on everything, everywhere, all the time. It all works the way it works, and does it rather well.
My cat’s name is Mailbox. She’s a dark longhair calico, and she’s wonderful. We play, she’s a cuddling cat, and she has a great big flaring attitude when she’s upset. I like animals that show their character. She is a great welcomer for me when I have been traveling. I have learned there is nothing like cuddling with the cat, and Heartspace helps me understand why. Mailbox is a tether to the deep love I have within me for the Earth, as are pets for a lot of people.
If you are a nature lover, surround yourself in nature and enjoy that space. Hiking the prairies, meandering through forests, strolling a beach or through a park… all these are connections to Heartspace. I enjoy looking at photos of the stars and galaxies we get to see through technology, and I like simply looking at the night sky. It strengthens Heartspace for me to enjoy these universal fingerprints, staring down at us from the cosmos like parents at babies.
And that is truly what we are in Heartspace, babies. Despite having all the wonders of science and technology at our fingers, we are educated but ignorant. We do not realize the potential for our connectivity, as our society keeps acting like its truly individualistic and alone in the world. Our wars against others and allowance for famine are just the most glaringly obvious examples of this. People who live in Heartspace don’t war against each other. The fighting and violence that once marked our interactions with each other through competition and consumption melt away to nonviolence and open interdependence when we see the lasting connections the universe has within itself, and that we have within ourselves.
Everything is connected in Heartspace. Let’s celebrate that together.
Adam F.C. Fletcher 