Maria Gonzalez Blog
Mindful Leadership

The Oneness of All Things

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

ALBERT EINSTEIN

This is one of my favourite quotes because it beautifully describes one of the key sources of pain and suffering in our lives and the way out of the hardship we create for ourselves. In reality, we are connected to everyone and everything around us. When others thrive, we thrive; when others suffer, we suffer. It is an illusion and delusion to say this or that is their problem, not mine. It is our interconnectedness which is the only reality. Therefore, it is absolutely true that we are as strong as the weakest among us and as rich as the poorest among us. The more we practice Mindfulness and the more our consciousness is refined the more this is self evident.

As Mindful leaders we know that we can have an enormous impact on those around us in our organizations, in our communities and in our families, by compassionately moving through the world. As you may remember, this is one of the “9 Ways”.

But it should go without saying that compassion, always, without exception, needs to be coupled with wisdom. Wise compassion is powerful and takes tremendous courage. It may not always be easy. It may not always make you popular. But at the deepest level of your being, in your deep stillness, you know that it is the right thing to do because we are all one. And in time this is not an intellectual, cognitive view, but rather a deep Knowing in every cell of your being.