BY MARILYN C. ARAYATA
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Songs influence our thoughts and actions in ways we may not even realize. Remember the songs taught by our teachers in elementary? One of those songs, “No man is an island” becomes more meaningful in a world where many peopled leaned towards individualism and competition.
No man is an island
No man stands alone
Each man’s joy is joy to me
Each man’s grief is my own
We need one another
So I will defend
Each man as my brother
Each man as my friend
Many people cannot even celebrate the achievements of others. They also stopped being compassionate when others are suffering. They have forgotten that we were created to care, to help one another, to treat each other as a friend or brother. We do not know everything and we cannot do everything. We need one another! We are interdependent.
From Dalai Lama: “Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature. Even tiny insects survive by mutual cooperation based on innate recognition of their interconnectedness. It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of our existence. Therefore we need a genuine sense of responsibility and a sincere concern for the welfare of others.”
We need one another. Avoid conflicts. Stop bashing and name-calling. Life is too short. Make friends. Build a strong support system. We are not strong all the time. Boost the morale of all frontliners in the war against COVID-19. Support them. What affects them will also affect us in one way or another. We are interconnected. We cannot win this war or any other war if we do not consider one another.
