Separated from Nothing?

A little over a year ago, I traveled to Ireland with my brother, two of my sisters, and one of my nieces.  My ancestors appear to be 100% Irish (as far as the Irish are 100% Irish), and I liked knowing that, but it wasn’t a big deal, and I wasn’t dying to go back to the old country.  But something surprising happened during that trip.  On a visceral level, I began to feel my connection to Ireland and its history.  

I practice meditation at home and with a group.  A few mornings ago, before the group began to meditate, our teacher said, “Our great delusion is that we see ourselves as separate from other people, from plants, from the universe where we live.”  On one level, I don’t know what that means, and I can’t imagine what it’s like to feel connected to the entire universe.  But things happen and all of a sudden, I know I’m part of something more than myself.  I wrote in an earlier post about watching cardinals at my bird feeder and feeling connected to their mysterious lives.  In Ireland, I was surprised by a feeling of unity with my ancestors and to all the Irish who suffered economically and politically.

I came home with a new interest in genealogy which connected me to Ireland in a personal way.  I read Cecil Woodham-Smith’s exhaustive account of the potato family—The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 which connected me to Ireland in a more general way.  Recently, I finished reading The Warmth of Other Suns, a history of African-American migration from southern to northern United States and realized how it’s all connected.  Ever since our nomadic African ancestors began their journeys, we’ve been traveling, trying to find the best possible world.  Suffering is part of the journey.  I feel connected to that.  However, some travelers have tried to ease their suffering by oppressing others.  I’m still uncertain as to how that fits with my budding nondual vision of the universe.

How is it for you?