Weight Maven

I don’t know if he’s a Unitarian, but Exuberant Animal’s Frank Forencich does an evolutionary social connection riff that sounds a lot like the UU 7th principle (“Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”) … he writes about his (and our) 7 billion allies:

As an individual person, I can see and experience only a tiny fraction of the world. My vision is incredibly limited, my sense of hearing and touch are vanishingly small, my lifespan is extremely short. In fact, as an individual, I am very nearly helpless. But with other people as part of my extended nervous system, I effectively have 7 billion scouts and allies who are scanning the universe, gathering information and gaining experience that might well be important to me. In fact, all people, living or dead, are potential eyes and ears for me, and for you. …

Never mind that many of my scouts are focusing their attention on aspects of the world that are worthless, ugly or violent. What matters is that a great many of my allies are directing their attention towards new knowledge, undiscovered potential, outrageous beauty and new solutions to old problems. These people are probing the world, observing its beauties, looking into mysteries and bringing back new knowledge that may well find its way into my body.