Focus on Life™

This is the era of individualism. No matter whether we talk about individuals, nations or international coalitions. Everywhere the separation is the prime directive and the underlying assumption. Still nobody is an isolated island. We only pretend to be separated.

Separation means that there is something that is included and the rest is excluded. It defines limits and polarises its object from its environment. In most of the cases separation is also associated with independence. It is assumed that this separation is outside of its environment and hence it is a self-supporting unit. In reality, this is seldom the case.

Our virtual reality can be easily exposed and revealed. It actually does not really matter whether we consider an individual or a nation. Look around you and observe the world around you. Immediately you see a plenty of products and services. Some of them are crucial for your well-being. Life-supporting elements such as electricity, clean water, and food are the most obvious. Where do they come from? Part of the power is coming from local sources but often oil or other scarce supply is needed. Also you breakfast table is most likely catered with fruits and products around the world. Ever more of our ordinary life is imported elsewhere. Call to a contact centre and you might be redirected to India or other cheaper service location. Visit a retail store and realise that most of the electronics and other products are manufactured in China or Asia.

We need each other. We are dependent on each other. We breath the same air, we drink the same water, we eat the same food. Why we continue to consider ourselves as isolated and independent entities when the reality speaks otherwise? Ignorance and selfishness start already harassing our lives in forms of natural catastrophes and epidemical diseases. Exploiting elsewhere and shutting our eyes does not make the reality go away. We can only fool ourselves — in our mind. Still the reality has its means to give us wake-up calls. A time to stop dreaming?

Our existence is relative. We are only in relation to some-
thing. Nothing has any meaning or significance per se, unless
it is in relation to something. The world outside of us just is.
We give it the meaning and the purpose, and it has the signif-
icance and relevance we define and understand it to have.
Because our existence is evolving in the now time, this also
means that we create the world again and again over time.
Our perceptions and understanding change and, therefore,
the surroundings and the world have different meaning and
relevance for us at different moments.

Relativeness enables us to experience and learn more about
ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to compare and value
things. We give the world the meaning and, therefore, it also
reflects our perception and understanding. We live and expe-
rience life in relation to our own consciousness; it provides us
the measurement and the yardstick. To simplify this concept,
we would say we are the world and the world is us. Nothing
happens outside of ourselves—everything in the world has to
do with us. Our existence is based purely on gaining under-
standing and realization about ourself. Self-realization is only
possible when we put things into a relationship, and we can-
not realize ourself if there is nothing to compare to or distin-
guish from. Our individualism and separation ceases the
moment we do not need the concept of relativeness anymore.
Until then, everything is relative—and subjective.

Have you ever considered the question where are you really?

Let’s start by defining a house: What is a house? Usually it
is built for a purpose—it has some relevance and function. A
house is built up from various different components that are
combined and put together from basic materials and miner-
als. In other words, a combination of materials put together in
a certain order is called a house. This house is not outside of
the world from which it is put together. A house can be old,
young, stylish, ugly, ruined, or abandoned. At the end of its
existence, it is again just various materials in another order
that is no longer called a house. So what was the house?

OK, back to us. Who am I? Am I the body that is com-
bined in a particular order from stem cells? Now we have
learned to replace our broken arms, hearts, and other organs
with new ones. We can even start to grow entirely new body
parts from our very own stem cells. We can be young, old,
beautiful, ugly, sick, or healthy. And at the end of the day we
are just a bunch of materials in different order and we are
called dead. So what was me?

As we defined, a house is a combination of things from its
surroundings. It is not outside of the world. It is part of the
world. But still the house is something that is separate
because we call it a house. If it were not separate, why should
it have a name? Something nonexistent cannot be seen or
realized. A separation means that it has boundaries and can
be put in relation to something.

When we are very young we do not know the difference
between our own body and the outside world. We learn this
separation from others. We can observe and sense things
around us that are not us. We do not feel them or cannot con-
trol them. So we come to a conclusion that they must not be
us. Similarly, in the way we call a bunch of materials laid
together in a particular order a house, other people call us by
name. Other people define us and we learn to be that whatev-
erthename they have given us.

House has a particular function or purpose. But what is
our purpose? Why are we at the same time separate from the
world but still part of the world as well (we do not live outside
of the world)? We are a bunch of materials put together in a
particular order and we have a certain concentration of atoms
or energy from which other people recognize us. So could this
separation serve a purpose? Why should we be separated from
the world if that would not be meaningful? No one would
build a house if the house would not have any function. There
would not even be a word house in that case. A separation
named house within the world serves a purpose for us—it
shelters and gives us a place to stay. But a house cannot
acknowledge itself. We can. Why should we be aware of our
separation and existence if that would not serve a purpose? It
would be totally strange to use energy to put something
together without any purpose.

So, who am I? For sure I am this separation called by my
name. I should be also part of the world because I’m built
upon the materials found in the world. But when my heart is
replaced or my leg is lost I do not vanish with them. So they
are not me. There seems to be other people like me. They
behave the same, they talk and communicate. Their existence
seems similar to mine. Still, they seem not to be me. There are
also other living things that are called animals and plants. I’m
not so sure of them because they do not communicate like
humans do. But I’m sure they exist as well. They live outside
of me.

Somehow it is difficult to go further from here. There
really does not seem to be a me, only this separation within
the world that is recognized by others. They have defined me,
and I am built upon things found in the world. My conclusion
is that there is no me or I could say as well that I am the world
because I’m part of it and live in it. This temporary separation
called me is like a house. But what is a house? My purpose is
to realize the separation as an illusion and as not more than
atoms laid in a particular order. A temporary concept built
upon to realize the concept of me—and its oneness with the
world. A separation to realize its oneness. And then shall I be
no more separated.