Unity

I’ve been asked to speak about loneliness and social connection at a Unitarian church near where I live, so I attended a service last Sunday to, essentially, “case the joint.” I was struck by the degree to which their philosophy of multiple wisdom traditions aligns with some of the implications of social neuroscience, especially in the context of loneliness. In Unitarian terms, John’s research has added a new "wisdom tradition" to the mix, and that tradition is psychology which shows how the social world gets under our skin, and how what’s going on under our skin affects the social world around us. In effect, this research provides hard-science validation for what many ancient traditions have said all along about the life enhancing benefits of altruism, community, and seeking a good that is higher than self.

The service I attended took place at the autumnal equinox, and the congregation read this poem by Robert T. Weston. It may not be great literature, but I thought the message was a good one to keep in mind:

Autumn, we know, is life en route to death. The asters are but harbingers of frost. The trees, flaunting their colors at the sky, in other times will follow where the leaves have fallen. And so shall we. Yet other lives will come. So may we know, accept, embrace the mystery of life we hold a while. Nor mourn that it outgrows each separate self, but still rejoice that we may have our day. Lift high our colors to the sky! And give in our time, fresh glory to the earth.

Bill