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I recently visited a meeting at the Swedish Red Cross in my home-town. The meeting was led by a group of volunteers that work with refugees. They told us about their work and how they assist the refugees in finding lost relatives, medical issues, and contact with authorities and all kinds of things. These Red Cross people are genuinely interested in the welfare of immigrants and refugees. All for free. I was touched by their concern. They include these foreigners in their own world.

Group identification

People tend to identify themselves with different kinds of groups. Belongingness is said to be one of the basic human needs. But this identification often creates a distance to people not belonging to the chosen group. I’ m male and not female. I’m a house owner and not an apartment owner. I live on the east side of town and not on the west side. I’m a Swede and not from middle Europe. I’m a technician and not a sales person. I’m a jazz guy and not one of those metal lovers. It easily becomes a us and them situation. As a result we give attention and help to those on the inside and blame those on the outside. Their problems are certainly not our problems. We are not concerned about the welfare for them. Why should we care? This is natural for us and ingrained in our thinking. Belonging to a group gives us safety and shelter.

In reality our identification with limited groups becomes a cage and a prison with walls that separate us from the others. We are deprived of fellowship and cooperation and fear and suspiciousness thrives. It is the main source of conflicts and ultimately wars. It is negative for us and for others. It is very negative for the whole and is against the very nature of life.

Human being

What would happen if we widened our identification? Our group is a system, but it is enclosed in a bigger system. What would happen if we considered ourselves as foremost human beings? Then there would be no “others” and cooperation and sharing would be possible in a different way. Their problems would become our problems and we would strive to understand each other. We have a lot of imagined boundaries and borders, but the truth is that we are in the same boat. We are humans on this earth. This doesn’t mean that we have to say goodbye to diversity of cultures and opinions. Diversification on the contrary will make us strong.

Some weeks ago I visited a large shopping centre in town. As I strolled there with my cart, I was thinking on these things and suddenly I realized how much prejudiced opinions of people that were in my mind. I saw how I kept people at a distance. It was like walls coming down in my mind. I had to stop for a while and I looked at people around me with new eyes. That experience really affected me.

Living being

We can take this widening of identification a step further. Think about our environment. Here we have a us and them situation also. We have lived disconnected from nature for centuries, believing that nature is there for us to use, spoil and degrade. Nature was seen like a machine and we were the operator, running it according to our plans. These days we try to improve on our behaviour concerning environment. We try to do a little here and a little there, but we have to go deeper than that.

The problem is that we don’t see ourselves as a part of the living world. The truth is that we are but one member of the web of life, deeply dependent on the other species. Some walls have to come down here also. The lips cannot say to the lungs, I don’t need you. This is literally true in these days and thinking something else would be very stupid.

Heart

Somehow this has to come into our hearts. It’s not enough to just speculate about it or have knowledge about it. It’s a heart-thing. We try the best we can, but not until it touches our hearts, there will be a real change and things will speed up. A mind shift is needed.

What difference would it make in your life if some walls of separation came down? How could you accelerate this process in your life? There is both a negative side and a positive side concerning sustainable living. We have to do it, or we will perish. On the positive side, what would the positive effects be in your life?