If it Doesn't Hurt Anyone.

Today my thought goes to the reality that every person , animal and plant share a profound connection that we seldom think about. That no matter how alone we may feel, no matter how insignificant our lives may seem; our existence is felt or shared by every living being on earth! Is that not the most amazing thought that you could ever have? My life is connected to everything that is alive!

Where did this thought come from? First, it started with a statement that was made to me. And I Quote, "It's okay as long as it doesn't hurt anyone." Everyone has heard that line before. It is almost always used when a person is trying to rationalize doing something that is unacceptable. When our moral compass starts to tap us on the shoulder and we hear that insistent small voice commanding us to "TAKE HEED!" and "STOP, what you are doing!" We begin to make excuses and justify to ourselves and even to others, that if it's not hurting anyone, that makes it okay! When I heard that statement the other day, my back stiffened up and I took a deep breath, preparing for all the wisdom of my 40-something years to come spewing out and as I exhaled to say that first word, it hit me! My breath is shared with an infinite number of living things every second of every day!

Consider this scientific information...What is the probability that any breath you take includes a molecule of air from the dying breath of Julius Caesar? Answer...99%. Wow! Is that not the most amazing thing! There is a whopping 99% chance that one air molecule within your body was exhaled from the mouth of someone thousands of years ago. And furthermore, every molecule that you exhale will still be breathed by millions long after you have gone. You see, molecules distribute themselves so randomly across the universe that an air molecule breathed by myself could have been in the lungs of Moses or King David. Oh my goodness, even the very breath of Christ could be sharing space in my body right now! So every breath I take was shared by every creature that needs oxygen! Any air molecule that I breath would have at one point been used by millions to sustain life as far back as the beginning of time.

Think about it! Oxygen accounts for nearly half of the mass of the earth's crust, two thirds of the mass of the human body and nine tenths of the mass of water. It's the most abundant element in The Earth's crust. Nearly one fifth (in volume) of the air is oxygen. Those molecules continue to move as we all breathe in and breathe out, sharing life with each other. There is nothing as simple as breathing, right?

I recommend watching a very interesting movie, called, "The Air I Breathe." It has some great moviestars (Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar)in it but what I loved about the movie was that it showed in an entertaining and eye-opening way, how all of us effect the lives of so many and we never even realize that we have. My thought for this day is that even the simplest act of living is shared and what we do or say can and most definitely will effects others. So the next time someone says: "It's okay as long as it doesn't hurt others." just take a deep breath! (*original post on 12/8/2008, still relevant today)