I am going to keep tonight’s post short. It’s not that the subject isn’t worthy of a long post, or that I didn’t originally write enough to keep the blog going for weeks.
It’s that I would rather you spent five minutes thinking about what I’m writing than five minutes reading.
We all have our own viewpoints, shaped throughout our lives. We all have different priorities and an eclectic mix of beliefs, traditions, languages, cultures and ambitions. But if all we focus on is the differences, we lose sight of the important things that bring us together.
We are fellow travellers through life. I found an article on a university website that pointed out ‘every breath you take has, at one time or another, been associated with another living organism‘. We are, fundamentally, a part of one another.
And yet – and yet. War, terrorism, murder, violence, hatred, bitterness: these are the defining features of millions upon millions of lives. Differences are justifications for unbearable, unspeakable things.
I have visited this subject before, on more than one occasion. Maybe it won’t change in my lifetime. Maybe it will never change. But if we could all just spend a few moments thinking about what we share in common with each other, and not think about what we don’t, it might give us hope that we can build some bridges over the vast chasms that we’ve created.
I’m going back to basics tonight, spurred on by the idea of shared breath. I will be thinking about breathing.
I will be thinking about how the molecules that pass through me might touch another, might create a bond between us.
We are all different but we share so much. If you want to, please feel free to share an idea or experience that is common to all of us in the comments. Build a bond with me.
Be peaceful,
EJ
xx
Becoming a writer 
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