Connections and Connectivity
A man I met recently told me he receives
over $100,000 per month because 6 months ago a company offered him the
opportunity to promote a healthful “super-fruit” beverage. I asked how this made him become so
successful.
He told me the secret was his
Rolodex. I asked what he meant, and he
said he got in the habit of recording the names and contact information of
every successful business person he met in his little Rolodex files. After he learned about the new opportunity,
he called and told them about it. These
people in turn contacted the people they knew, etc. By this method, his organization made him a
millionaire within 1 year.
I began to think about what he told
me and suddenly realized the significance of his disclosure. He had accomplished what many people struggle
for years to do simply because he was able to realize the people he knew might
some day be important to his financial freedom.
Then I realized how important it is
to be “well-connected” – not just to others, but to the entire universe. Macrobiotics essentially is all about
achieving connectivity and dissolving dualistic separateness by re-integrating
ourselves on all levels. Being
well-connected is not just a term used by the rich and famous. Being well-connected is what life is all
about.
People who are well-connected to the
Earth are well-grounded physically and spiritually. “Man and nature not two” is an ancient saying
from
Many people today are disconnected, from
the Earth, from themselves, from others and from life itself. As a result their lives become a constant,
desperate attempt to survive and build the connections needed for successful
living.
On the most basic level, we need to
be connected to food sources as well as other resources we need for day-to-day
survival. We also need to be connected
to what is going on in the world via media, books, etc. to enable our
adaptability to increase through knowledge, concepts, ideas that can alter our
perceptions and enable us to adapt to the ever-changing world around us.
Ultimately, we need re-connect
ourselves to the primordial Resource, the well-spring of our spiritual life as
well. Without such a spiritual
connection, life remains a shell-game which we act out devoid of ultimate
meaning.
Many people in an attempt to find
inner peace try to isolate themselves from others and the world. In so doing they can lose connectivity that
is vital to life. Much of modern angst
can be due to the loss of connectivity on many levels.
Strong family ties found in most traditional
societies provide a base upon which individual lives can be built, nourished
and sustained, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.
Modern society’s fragmented ways of
life, fragmented foods, lifestyles that are
disconnected from the Earth and civilization have led to living lives of “quiet
desperation’ for many. Macrobiotics’ way
of re-integrating modern humanity starts on the most fundamental level, by instructing
how to select, prepare and consume whole, balanced meals. Incorporating this method into one’s daily
lifestyle starts a transformation that leads ultimately to re-integration of
self, society, world and infinity.
Without this essential aspect, other methods of re-integrating society
and nature remain incomplete. As more
people follow the Macrobiotic way, and demand an organic, whole, natural and
balanced food supply, society will ultimately change. Connectivity and re-integration with all
aspects of life on Earth will then be restored.
--Fred Pulver
3-28-08