We are all interconnected—with each other and with the world around us. I don’t mean this in a spiritual sense (though that may or may not also be true). I mean this in a physical, practical way. The man sitting across the coffee shop, the children playing in the park, the baby fussing in her stroller—these people are just as much a part of us as the hands I’m using to write this article.

A Mental Model

Before diving into the implications of that claim, let’s start with a mental model—a way of viewing the world that will help explain what I mean. When dealing with a system as complex as the universe, it’s useful to zoom in on a smaller part to gain insight into the bigger picture. In this case, let’s take a closer look at something we’re all (hopefully) familiar with: the human body.

The body itself is already incredibly complex, but we can still make some generalizations that will serve as the foundation of our model. At the smallest level, we have individual cells. Each one performs a specific function. As we zoom out, we see cells working together to maintain various parts—or subsystems—of the body. Zoom out again, and these subsystems combine to form you, the whole person.

Beyond the Body

Now imagine that this scale keeps going—beyond your own body, into your environment, your community, the world, and out into the entire universe. It’s not a stretch to think the same patterns we see within our bodies might also exist externally. After all, from the perspective of a single cell, its entire “universe” is the organ or tissue it belongs to. But we know that’s not the whole story.

Just as cells make up who we are, we—you, me, and everything around us—may be part of something bigger. And just like that single cell, which can’t comprehend the larger being it’s a part of, we too may be unaware of the role we collectively play in the universe. But that doesn’t mean the role doesn’t exist.

With that lens, our connectedness becomes clearer. Our cells have two “identities.” One is as a tiny protein machine doing its specialized job. The other is as part of the larger being—you. The same can be said of us. Yes, we’re vastly more complex than cells, but we still carry these same two identities: individuals with free will, and components of the greater universe.

Connectedness

The implication here is that we are all, in a very real sense, one and the same. As parts of a greater whole, we are all living one unified life—just from different points of view. That means every decision we make, no matter how small, ripples outward and affects the people and the world around us.

So it makes sense to lean toward compassion and cooperation. Systems whose parts work against each other tend to break down. Systems that work in harmony tend to thrive. Of course, life isn’t that simple—conflict is inevitable. But when conflict arises, it helps to remember that we’re essentially in conflict with ourselves—and that the outcome affects the health of the whole.

Finding Purpose

There’s one more implication worth touching on: just like our bodies depend on well-functioning parts, the universe depends on us to function well too. When parts of our bodies stop cooperating, things fall apart. So we should strive to live in a way that keeps our cells—and ourselves—healthy.

Unfortunately, things aren’t as straightforward for us as they are for our cells. We’re not born with a clear role or a manual. We don’t always know what we should be doing. But if a healthy universe depends on healthy functioning parts, then it stands to reason that our job is to find a function—and perform it well.

The good news is, we get to choose what that function is. We have the freedom to decide how we want to contribute, how we want to show up in the world, and how we spend each day. Our only real obligation—if you want to call it that—is to dedicate ourselves to that role, whatever it may be, and do it to the best of our ability.