🌌 You are still the universe

Book of TREE 3.07

The idea that everyone and everything are part of the same whole can seem impossible, ridiculous, repulsive, blasphemous. Western culture embeds the idea of separation into every part of life. ‘Don’t go to the baby. She needs to learn to self-soothe.’ Other families, other classes, other schools, other cities, other football teams, other departments, other companies, other races, other countries. Independence, self-reliance, individualism. We are not even allowed to be whole in ourselves. Our bodies are compared to clothing that we will take off one day or they are called a ‘sacks of meat’ that carry around our minds. When the language and metaphors of for all of life reinforce separation, conceiving of an enormous cosmic Other is the obvious way to try and make sense of the universe. It works well for a lot of people and that’s completely fine. It doesn’t work for me.

I won’t try to convince you to believe differently. My opinion in big existential matters is that as long as it doesn’t turn you into a jerk, go with what works for you. I am, however, going to share a thought in case it’s helpful.

My eyeball and my big toe are different things. They are also both Jeff Gill. If either or both of them were removed, I would carry on being Jeff Gill, but a changed Jeff Gill. Once they were removed, they would cease being Jeff Gill and become medical waste.

Diversity within a whole is not only true of single living organisms. (Humans are actually ecosystems, not single living organisms, but let’s keep things simple.) I, the tree in my garden, and the Texaco station down the road are all Dursley, the town where I live. I wasn’t Dursley until November 2022. The tree has been Dursley for a couple decades. I don’t know about the Texaco. We’re different from each other but we’re all Dursley. We could all cease being Dursley and Dursley would go on, slightly changed. For now, we’re all staying Dursley.

This carries on all the way up.

The only difference, once you get to the ultimate level, whether you call it the universe or God or something else, is that you can’t be removed. You can be recycled or, if you believe in an eternal soul, you can go on living eternally while you body is recycled. Either way, you are made of the same stuff, physical and maybe spiritual, as the universe, and your existence is entirely within the universe.

RAYE + Mark Ronson was inevitable and this collaboration is exactly what it should be.

Grow slowly
Jeff