We Are The Same

By Monique Rhodes

March 3, 2022


This week has been challenging for many of us. The war in Ukraine is unsettling. Many of us know people from Ukraine. Many of us also have friends in Russia who are also suffering despite their complete opposition to the war. I received a message from one of my close friends in Russia. She has no money and no way to get any. I can't imagine how she will eat over these coming weeks. The suffering is on all sides.

We live in a time of them and us, where we have become masters of seeing who our tribe is and who our tribe is not. However, when I bring people together and work with them in groups, all I see is that we are all the same. We have the same hopes and the same fears. We want a safe place to live and enough food. We want friends. We want to feel love, acceptance and belonging. We may have different methods for achieving these goals. However, we must understand that these goals are at the heart of almost everyone's life. We want to be happy. We want to suffer less.

It doesn't matter what country we are from. It doesn't matter which political party we voted for. It doesn't matter who we love, what colour our skin is, how we identify.

There is no us and them. We are all the same.

The faster we realise this, the better.

Why?

Because every time you decide that someone else is the other, you are waging war against them. Don't point your finger at powerful men waging war against other countries. First, look inside your heart and see the war there.

If you want peace, it has to start with you. 

  • Yes food for reflection. In the end, we all contribute to the same energy field. What is the energy we are contributing, positive or negative?

  • Thank you Monique for your reflection. As someone who returned to Croatia in the early 1990s to aid in the war effort in forging a new independent country in the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia, I am struck by similar parallels currently plaguing innocent people who just want to live a peaceful life with a secure roof over their own heads. My sense now, after decades, is that there is no sense in any of it. I’m still grappling with aftershocks from my own homeland. In a nutshell, I have no advice–except to pray that we have ENOUGH senses to get out of our own way.

    • Yes, I can imagine. I have a close friend from Croatia who grew up in the war. What a traumatic time. And, Maria, what an incredibly beautiful country you are from. I loved my time visiting Croatia so much 💕

  • My wife is an avid listener, meditator and advocate for you.
    We would like to donate to someone , that we know the money will get there. any ideas…can we donate some funds to your friend directly or someone you know. Ian (Catriona’s Hubby)

    • Ian, it’s so wonderful to hear from you. I just did a search and found some charities online. Look up donate to Ukraine. I love that you are going to do this. 💕

  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

    It's time to be the happiest person you know

    Check out The Happiness Baseline, my course with a 100% success rate in increasing the happiness levels of course graduates – and refunds your course fee when you complete it. Now that's something to smile about. 

    >