We're Not As Separate As We Thought

Are you really who you think you are? And are you really separate? 

OK, I'm going to get a bit philosophical here... I heard about something recently that blew my mind. It explains on a cellular level that we really are all one. It's called chimera (pronounced chim - era). And specifically micro-chimeras -- cells that aren't yours floating around your body. Seriously.

Micro-what-ism?

According to Wikipedia, "Microchimerism is the presence of a small number of cells that are genetically distinct from those of the host individual. Most people are born with a few cells genetically identical to their mothers'." They don't mention the father. But that's another story altogether...

The speaker I heard said that it's not all that uncommon for a woman to carry twins, and for one to be absorbed by the other early in fetal development. You know, when you are just a clump of cells. (Makes ya wonder. If you've always felt something was missing...)

You Really Are Partly Your Mother

In other words, in utero, we get some of our mother's cells. And the mother gets some of her child's cells. And what's more, I have some cells from my older siblings as well.We are more connected than we realize.

So think about it. Your mother has some cells from her mother, and so on back through the generations. (Thinking of stories of near-death experiences, I wonder if that's how those relatives recognize us when we cross over at death.)

So How Far Does This Go?

But then I really started tripping on the idea. So I might have a few cells from each guy I kissed in my life. And they have cells of everyone they've been with. You can see where this is going. Everyone you held hands with at church. Breathing the air of everyone who you stood close to in a conversation. I mean, that's how colds are passed, right?

You have probably heard the equally mind-blowing fact that the air molecules you are breathing were previously breathed by someone else. At some point, you have breathed air molecules that were breathed by Jesus, Buddha, and everyone else on the planet.

So, a cellular level, we just might have some molecules or cells from a large part of humanity. So the terms "Human family" and "global community" take on a whole new connotation.


And a friend who used recreational drugs back in the day said he figured that out on his first trip.

All You Need Is Love

So the next time I see someone who I think is too different to relate to, or I am not feeling the good vibrations, maybe I'll remember this and take a breath to open my mind a bit more.

So if you feel alone with all the Valentine's Day hype, remember that you just might have a tiny bit of a whole lot of people in you. So you aren't really alone.