Put simply, we can see ourselves as independent individuals or we can acknowledge our interdependence on one another and on the planet. A great deal is at stake in which of these two views — individualism or interdependence — we choose to adopt. We experience our lives differently, we relate to others differently, and the very society we create differs based on whether we believe ourselves to be fundamentally separable and independent, or fundamentally connected and interdependent.
It is not that one of these two paradigms is absolutely bad and the other good. However, I feel that greater opportunities derive from seeing ourselves as interdependent, or interconnected. In the end, the individualistic view places more limits on us than interdependence. When we experience ourselves as interconnected in infinite ways to others, we have many options as to how we can relate. By contrast, adopting individualism as our path in life leads us to compare our personal situation to that of other individuals, as if we were separate entities. In such comparisons, one or the other always come up short. We then end up striving to make sure we are not on the losing end of the comparison.”
17th Karmapa
from the book
Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.
Further quotes from the book Interconnected :
- Self-reliance
- Outer and inner world
- The best way to love oneself
- Everything and everyone is benefiting you
- When we ignore our interdependence
- Limitless aspirations
- Keeping the door to improvement open
- Freedom
- We hold nothing back
- Thinking about the consequences of our collective actions
- Naturalness
- Being an interdependent individual
- The workings of interdependence
- Becoming stuck in a quagmire of self-obsession
- Inner freedom is key
- The ability to experience genuine closeness
- Enthusiastically benefiting whomever we come in contact with
- Our innate ability to connect with others
- Enjoying the goodness of what you are doing
- Interdependence always works both ways