All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated... As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all... No man is an island, entire of itself... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
EQ NOTE
Independence can be useful, but it is easy to turn it into a story that we should need no one. Donne’s line pushes in the opposite direction. A human life is connected whether or not we are paying attention to the connections. We are changed by the people who listen and by the relationships that help us carry an ordinary day. Belonging begins with recognizing that dependence is not a failure of self-sufficiency. It is part of being human.
Where are you more connected than you sometimes remember?
