Meeting the raw edges

I’ve been reading so much lately about the interdependence of all life forms. From ecologist Suzanne Simard discovering how trees talk to each other  to this evocative article from Andreas Weber who says

“There is only one immutable truth: No being is purely individual; nothing comprises only itself. Everything is composed of foreign cells, foreign symbionts, foreign thoughts. This makes each life-form less like an individual warrior and more like a tiny universe, tumbling extravagantly through life like the fireflies orbiting one in the night.”

We are not born to struggle alone, although in our patriarchal society the values of the warrior, the lone wolf are over-emphasised. There is immense strength to be found in coming together, to share celebration, joy, happiness as well as the more ‘difficult’ passages where we can feel grief or anger that’s overwhelming when faced on our own.