Interbeing. Interpenetration. All things have their past in me. All things contributed to me. I do and shall contribute to all things. As Thick Nhat Hahn says, "This is not philosophy, this is reality."

I recall reading somewhere (probably in a book on quantum physics), that the atomic stuff of the universe is constantly recycled, so that it's absolutely certain that we can say, "There are, in my body, particles that were in the bodies of the dinosaurs, along with bits of Moses, Jesus, the Buddha and Mohammad…as well as everyone else who every lived."

 Sit with that for a few moments.

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.