Life is a Journey from I to We
Posted all around the ashram of the great Indian saint, Sai
Baba, are little signs displaying spiritual aphorisms, reminding
visitors of the reason they are there. One sign reads 'Life is a
Journey from I to We.' That message impressed me like no other,
to the extent that I still remember it 20 years later. Why?
Because it reflects a universal truth of all religions: the path
to peace and happiness is not about the indulgence of oneself
and one's ego, but rather is love and kindness toward others.
When we are born, we don't differentiate between ourselves and
the rest of the world. Everything is I.
As we become toddlers, we begin to realize that others share
our world and we learn how to make concessions and accommodate
them.
When we become teens, peers become all important and we try to
subjugate our egos to fit in.
When we become adults, in order to make our way in a
competitive society, we often put ourselves first, sometimes at
the expense of others.
The time of greatest selflessness for most people is when we
have children, and we put the needs of our infants above all
else. We make tremendous selfless sacrifices for them, often
without a thought for our own needs. We do this because they are
innocent, helpless and beautiful. They need us. We love them.
They love us back. The I/we boundary is transcended and, as
those of us who have had children know, the results are heavenly.
While most of us are able to take selflessness to this level
with our children, we have difficulty doing it in our everyday
lives--with colleagues, friends, strangers. We continually
assert our egos to ensure that "our needs are met" and that no
one takes advantage of us. But there are occasional exceptions
to this. There are the rare few who are able to transcend their
egos and see through the egos of others--to see them as
innocent, helpless and beautiful. They are able to do with
adults what most of us can manage only with infants--they lower
the barriers between self and other and become we.
Many of us have known someone like this. Despite the fact that
they are continually putting others first, they are
paradoxically yet invariably happy and at peace. Their lives are
rich and full. People are attracted to them like magnets, they
are not taken advantage of and good things continually seem to
come their way. They have completed the journey from I to we and
entered the kingdom of heaven, right here on Earth.