Heroes Not Zombies

It was the tree on the brow of the hill which caught my attention. It seems to be standing there all alone. So, at first, it seems an image of separateness. Stand out separateness.

However, when I stop to think about it for a moment, I realise I’m looking at a uniqueness, not a separateness. I mean, this tree didn’t materialise out of the ether. It didn’t pop through from some parallel universe. A seed landed there, either blown in the wind, which blows over all the land, or dropped by a bird, or other animal, passing by, as the whole countryside is alive with creatures, flying, crawling, running over the surface, living, and growing amongst the stones, the bushes and the other plants.

This brought to my mind the reality of how we humans, every one of us, emerges within a matrix of environments, physical, social, cultural and so on. We aren’t parachuted onto this planet. We are made of the exact same atoms and molecules as everything else which exists here, all the products of furnaces and explosions in distant stars. Every one of us is a reconfiguration of matter here on Earth. A temporary reconfiguration, but a unique one.

It’s this apparent paradox which pleases me most – every one of us utterly unique, but wholly connected to all that exists, has existed, and will exist in the future. Being part of the whole doesn’t mean being separate, but, nor does it mean being the same as everything else. This tree is not the same as any other tree on this hillside. Every seed grows in its own unique way, experiences the weather events day by day, which contribute to its shape and ultimate size. There are no two trees which are identical.

And even more so, for we humans, we are all unique, all different, all to be celebrated in our diversity, but remain, wholly, inextricably connected to all else which has, does, and will exist.