We Are None Of Us Alone
November 16, 2007
We are none of us alone
even as we exhale it is inhaled by others
the light that shines upon me shines upon my neighbor as well
in this way everything is connected
everything is connected to everything else
In this way I am connected to my friend even as I am connected to my enemy
In this way there is no difference between me and my friend
In this way there is no difference between me and my enemy
We are none of us alone
November 16, 2007 at 11:23 pm
i had googled the quote from life and found your blog. ended up reading several of your entries – and while we’re at totally different places in our lives, i really relate to a lot of what you’re talking about. i don’t really have anyone to talk to, so it was nice just to see that someone else feels things too. thanks. internet’s a crazy thing, no?
November 18, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Glad to see you are back!
November 18, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Where is this quote from…It feels like I have heard it before, maybe in one of my RELI courses in college.
November 19, 2007 at 12:15 am
i also googled this quote that i heard on Life.
funny.
maybe everything is connected.
November 19, 2007 at 11:26 am
I too heard this on Life and was wondering who the author was. Does anyone know? Everything is connected.
November 19, 2007 at 1:43 pm
it’s funny, that as i was reading this quote i had this feeling i had already come across it before. the collective conscious is at work here once again.
November 20, 2007 at 12:01 am
“We are none of us alone.” Familiar . . . because it immediately fits our consciousness like a well-worn glove . . . and we realize it’s something we’ve known all along.
Spread the word.
November 20, 2007 at 7:32 pm
as soon as I heard that on “life” I wrote it down, but evidently got it mixed up and wrong.
thank you soooo much for posting this. I’ve been looking for this everywhere.
I might make a song out of it.
November 21, 2007 at 11:53 am
It seems that this saying/poem/proverb has captured everyones attention. Hasn’t it? I have been looking around the net, and there seems to be allot of theories on this. How interesting. Lowey from Australia
November 23, 2007 at 3:52 am
I love this quote. I am pretty sure Giberan, Casey and Confucius didn’t say this…IF it is a Zen quote I will never find it as there is so much to read on the Zen site. I searched high and low and finally realized I could hear it again on the NBC/Life website. I was able to copy all the words so I can memorize it…I would like to know who is responsible so I can read more of his work.
November 24, 2007 at 3:42 am
I too hear this on Life (love that show!) Thank goodness for DVR. I kept rewinding it so I could write it down verbatim. Truly, we are none of us alone!
Grateful in Santa Monica
November 24, 2007 at 11:50 am
I googled the saying as I heard it also. I just finished a Chinese course, and Chinese philosophy refers to “the way.” I don’t think it is Confucius. It is more Daoist in origin because of the duality and yin/yang statements.
I have read the Dao de Ching and I am pretty sure it is not in the book, but I think it is from an author in the same school of thought. If this phrase interests you, you might want to look up more on the subject of Daoism.
November 30, 2007 at 12:02 am
I also watch the show life, and like all of you above i felt the connection in the same way, except for the fact that i brought it to my psychology professors attention this week, he did some research and the quote was first written at the same time Confucius was teaching (circa 504 BCE to be exact), but it was written by a man named Fushumongu, who was overpowered by Confucius since he didnt have the backing or funds to promote his theories, for this reason Fushumongu was more or less forgotten and left out of many modern day text books, while Confucius holds the fame for most Chinese Philosophy
Hope this helps, Robert
December 9, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Catching up on Life this morning and googled this quote… apparently I’m not the only person watching this show. That is a good thing.
December 11, 2007 at 3:30 pm
My daughter was just murdered in September 2007. Nothing has spoken to my heart like this qoute did when I heard it on Life! I have shared it with over 100 people since that show. Thank you Berend for posting it!
Judith
December 11, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Judith -
You’re welcome. I have a daughter of my own, and cannot imagine the devastation of losing her. This quote has touched a LOT of people, just judging from the number of people that have hit my blog because of it… I’m glad it could bring you some comfort.
Berend
December 12, 2007 at 10:22 am
I too have been touched by the quote on life. I just watched the episode last night. I want more..
December 17, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Life is one of the best shows on tv. And the things that are said on this show are great writing. The Quote we are none of us alone has touched many people I know.
May 18, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Not sure if anyone will read this, as this part looks a bit inactive since the strike, but in one of the episodes after this one (Life), he sort of continues these words. but i forgot what he said, at least it referred to this!
Greetings from Holland
May 24, 2008 at 12:17 pm
When Charlie throws away his audiotape in episode 11 and picks it up at the end you can clearly see on the tape:
The Path to Zen – S.P. Thomas
Haven’t found anything of this guy jet.
March 31, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Like everyone here, I heard the quote on LIFE too ! I feel peace when I hear it..
March 31, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Like everyone here, I heard the quote on LIFE too ! I feel peace when I hear it.. where can one buy the tape ?
March 31, 2009 at 11:57 pm
[...] found it here. and what amazed me was, while i’ve thought of it from time to time over the past year or so, [...]
October 16, 2009 at 1:05 am
The book/audio is by Alan Watts, “The Way of Zen”. I think.