Parts of a Whole

It's the little things that count

We are all parts of a whole.  Like building blocks, one individual block is important but put together a lot of blocks can make amazing things.

Life is like that.  How many of us go through this existence feeling alone, separated from others, cut off and dispassionate?  We live in a world now where it’s possible to never stray outside.  We can order all our necessities online, have them delivered, do research with a click of a mouse, get an education, download music, connect with others on social networks, and self-diagnose our medical problems.  In one way this is very convenient, safe, practical, and for some, the only way to function.  We become mere bytes on a computer, ID numbers on an order form, and quirky handles on Twitter.

Yet how does that ultimately serve our true essence?  We are more than just ourselves as individual consumers, patients, researchers, students, or contributors to Facebook.  In fact, one could say that perhaps with the advent of social networking, even those of us least inclined to venture outside and deal with others ultimately end up doing so anyway whenever we update our status or upload a photo or video. 

Deep down, the human psyche needs to connect; to be more than an individual block, but rather a part of something.  Look at all the organizations out there, from charities, school alumnus groups, sports teams, political committees, and clubs as varied as the NRA and PETA.  Each of us, it seems, finds some way to connect; to make more of ourselves than a single imprint on society. 

As Alfred Tennyson, Poet Laureate for the UK once said, “I am a part of all that I have met,”  so too are we a conglomeration of all our connections in life.  We are parts of a whole;  individual, beautiful parts, powerful by ourselves, yet unconquerable in our collective soul.