Relationships and Connections: Understanding of Humanity

At my uncle’s funeral yesterday, I heard little groups of people who I didn’t know talking about him. One group knew him as a great soccer player and coach. To others, he was a financial advisor who made investments for folks and helped them to create very nice lifestyles. None of us had a complete picture.

So what? This is what. We only have a relatively complete picture of our very immediate family. Therefore, when we encounter others or engage in a relationship with them, we should make a conscious choice to process our relationship and thoughts about others through Heart.

In order to be able to do that, though, we must have our relationship with our own heart right. I am not telling you that choosing heart makes you a better or worse person. The only thing I have intended through all of these posts is to address the expressed and observed needs of people.

Everyone, no matter what central processing unit they use on a day to day or minute to minute basis, loves and hates from time to time. However, I know if we have not awakened to self, it creates a searching for meaning that can leave us empty and a host of other negative emotions. Awakening to the call of our own heart makes it possible to act supernaturally in relation to many aspects of life.
Someone who I feel knew this is Walt Whitman. I would like to very briefly highlight a few places in his poetry that illustrates this supernatural ability to relate to and interact with people — no, more than that, identify with them. That’s relating.

In “Song of Myself,” Walt speaks of forgiveness, which is an essential element of relationships, often required for reigniting a personal relationship or beginning new ways of thinking about possible relationships when negative preconceptions have erected a barrier. In Section 21, he says of one who is considered a sinner, “Prodigal, you have given me love — therefore I to you give love! / O unspeakable passionate love.” Not only does he offer forgiveness, but also he gives a deep, true love.

Walt makes it clear that it doesn’t matter how far someone has wandered, he will include that person in his thoughts and life purpose of poetry: “I am not the poet of goodness only, I do not decline to be the poet of wickedness also. / What blurt is this about virtue and about vice? / Evil propels me and reform propels me, I stand indifferent, / My gait is no fault-finder’s or rejecter’s gait, / I moisten the roots of all that has grown.” He doesn’t judge or discriminate. He equally cares for and relates to all in his poetry. He understands that root, core essence is the Spirit of all, which makes all eternal, immortal, despite behavioral expressions here as mortals.

Walt knows that this eternal nature of the Heart, that core Self, creates unity, despite outward appearances. I find this so difficult, mostly when thinking of myself, to remember and deal with my eternal nature, my true identity. This unity with eternal Spirit, though, connects us with everyone, everything else. Ego would preserve and protect physically-focused self and disdain connection with “bad” guys. Walt recognizes that “Whoever degrades another degrades me, / And whatever is done or said returns at last to me. // I will accept nothing which all cannot have their counterpart of on the same terms” (Sec. 24). Equality in relationships and opportunities marked this aspiration of Walt’s.

“Through me forbidden voices, / Voices of sexes and lusts, voices veil’d and I remove the veil, / Voices indecent by me clarified and transfigur’d” (Sec. 24). He wants to show, make clear the unity among all. Pretty solid grounds for entering into significant relationships, even with folks who we may consider evil.

He goes on to say, “Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touch’d from…” Wow! Here it is, that sense of godhood in each of us. It takes Heart knowledge, Heart relationship to be able to see this, experience this with others.

Decent grounds for relationships. For those of you who have followed me and the posts, I see these qualities in you. I do in others, too, but I don’t know them. For this part of our lives we share through social media, I value you immensely.

I would like to tell you, even though I do not know what tomorrow may bring, the nature of my posts will probably be different starting tomorrow. I will explain more then.

​Have a blessed night — or early morning if that is when you see this.