As I sat quietly in my room contemplating my life and my existence it hit me. In physiology, we have learned about why regulating homeostasis (tendency of an organism’s internal environment to remain constant over time) is important to an organism’s survival. I began to ponder if we were connected to other organisms in the same way. I concluded that we are inherently connected to all life in such a way that we need each other to survive. This connection and its inherent beauty sustain us mentally, physically, and emotionally. A lack of this connection can lead to uneasiness, unhappiness, and loneliness that we all go through periodically.
After establishing that this connection is essential to our well-being, I began to look at the underlying causes of why we seldom feel this sense of belonging in our own world. In previous centuries, and in indigenous cultures, there seemed to be a more holistic view of ourselves and how we interacted with the universe. A sense of unity with the universe was lost with the Europeanization of the world and the establishment of markets. I blame our mantra of greed and the embracing of the “survival of the fittest” mind frame. Doctrines such as these that most of us unknowingly live by, and embrace whole-heartedly, may actually be counterproductive to our wellbeing.
Love and cooperation sustain us and are actually more in line with our nature. For example, think about any low point in your life. Was it comforting or would it have been comforting to know that someone was there for you to love and comfort you? The answer is almost unequivocally yes because that is the core of who we are as intelligent organisms. This brings me to my main point. Since we are all connected with ourselves and nature, or we want to make an impact on this world, I venture to say that tiny acts of positivity/negativity affect other people more that we know. I am reminded by something my father told me every night. “Be nice to every person you see because you don’t know what other people go through nor their pain. Do this and you will live a long, prosperous life filled with few burdens”.
Since the universe is connected, the small acts of kindness or hostility can build up into a force within the universe. The small acts we do, the way we carry ourselves, and what we say all have a collective output on the this world and the way the world interacts with us. My suggestions are to spread the positivity while staving off negativity, embracing your fears, and wholeheartedly believing that you have the power to be great. Your positive energy alone can create a backdrop of unparalleled positivity in the universe. Be forewarned though. This way of thinking carries a major consequence: Responsibility for ourselves and our conduct. As the semester starts I encourage you to embrace this burden. Branch out and examine your connections. Strive to become a universal citizen and do the tiny positive acts that collectively make a large scale difference in the world.
Marcus Daniels is a junior biology major from Brandon.
