One can consider anything the view of the interconnectedness of all life. We frequently have used the breath for such in our meditations over the years. Each in-breath is the byproduct of countless green beings. Each out-breath will be breathed by those same green beings and will also carry our mood and demeanor, our thoughts and presence into the world on the winds. Without green beings, we would not have oxygenated air to breathe and would not exist. This is one example of how dependent a human being is on other beings.

Any example could be chosen. The chair or meditation cushion that one is sitting on. Who made it? What are its components and how did they come into existence? How did it come to be “ours?” Or, how about the water for a shower? Consider all the beings involved, all the beings sacrificed or giving into the water being used. If it is hot water, further considerations of how is it heated, who created those mechanisms, who services them, and so forth.

If one examines even the most innocuous item in one’s life, or interaction and relationship, one will discover that the thought of  “independence” , of singular, solitary existence has no basis in reality. This illumination can then foster great compassion, patience, living with less, and honoring the abundance in one’s life. How marvelous!