Is it possible to encompass the essence of our life experience into one understandable package?
Yes – One Resounding Yes!!!
Throughout my career of study I have attempted to understand the subject under consideration so that the facts would have context and therefore help me remember them
This evolved into a lifetime project called The Common Vein the pursuit to identify the common elements in and around us
My daughter Arielle directed me to a Greek poet from 650 BCE by the name of Archilochus
The Fox and the Hedgehog
Isaiah Berlin expanded the sentence into an essay expressing the concept of the differences between centripetal and centrifugal thought and approach to the events in the world
I realised that I in fact was a hedgehog, because I live and breathe the following equation
In the sciences including mathematics physics chemistry and in biology a unit may be
a number, atom, molecule, organelle, cell, tissue, organ, system body or person
In our communities a unit may be
a person, a couple, family, community, town, city, state, nation, humanity
In literature, poetry, visual, performing arts and athletics a unit may be
a letter, word, musical note, paintbrush stroke, hieroglyphic symbol a dance step, a backswing of a golf club or the forward stroke of a tennis racket
In nature and the environment a unit may be
a raindrop, river , ocean, oxygen in the air, leaf, flower, tree, feather, or an animal
In our cities a unit may be
a brick, a wall or a building
In our solar system a unit may be
the sun, the earth or the moon
Units in and Around Us
What is the
“+”
of 1+1 ?
It is the bond, or connection that holds units together
In science and biology a bond is
a force, such as a positive and a negative force, a pressure difference, gravity, an osmotic difference, a blood vessel, nerve, tendon or ligament used to enable structural and functional units of scientific or biological design to “attempt” to reach a oneness
In our communities
a force that brings us together, love, compassion, concern, and faith – a need for oneness (both conscious and unconscious)
In literature, poetry, visual, performing arts and athletics – the bonds
relate to the proximity of the one word to the next, the one musical note to the next, the one paintbrush stroke to the next, the one dance step to the next and a need for the poet, author, artist, choreographer and athlete to create a perfect “piece” which contains both a conscious and unconscious need for oneness or perfection or beauty
In nature and the environment a bond may be
a root, a branch, a vein in the leaf , the bond that drives animals to procreate, nest, create communities and herds. It is the rivers and oceans or the common air that we breathe that connects all things in the environment
In our cities a bond may be
the road, subway, telephone wires, internet, TV – the links that help bring us together to oneness
In our solar system the bonds are
gravitational
Sometimes 1 + 1 + 1
= 1
1 Mother + 1 Father + 1 Child = 1 Family
Sometimes 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
=
1
Sometimesie when 2 =1
eg the Electron + Proton = Hydrogen Atom
or Sperm + Egg = Zygote
Or the Dance of One Male and One Female in a Duet
But Sometimes
The Questions –
Why do things happen in the world?
Is there truly one understandable package?
If so all the whys of the world should fit under the umbrella of the answer
The big why’s
Why is positive attracted to negative?
Why is the sperm attracted to egg?
There is a yearning of all structure to become whole. It starts with the most fundamental particles of the universe – the electron and the proton and appears to end with the universe
Why when positive interacts with negative is a new and totally unique element created?
Is the essence of Darwin’s theory so different from the essence of the story of creation?
Is Buddhism, so different from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
Is the proton and its needs so different from the cell and its needs?
Are either of these different from the that which drives the person, the community or the nation?
The goal of The Common Vein is to expose the common forces, both conscious and unconscious that make us do what we do.
There are fundamental principles that govern all of life. These principles help us understand the apparent complexity .
The parts are driven by a variety of forces to bond with other parts
Unbonded BondsThis art piece demonstrates a generic representation of bonds. In biology these bonds are commonly related to attractive electrical forces. Courtesy Ashley Davidoff
Members of a Family
The people of the family bond to create a single entity – the family
The parents are central figures who function to control and integrate the family during the maturation phase of the family
Copyright Ashley Davidoff MD
TCV-0073
Result –
People and families live in structural units – a home, which in and of itself is like a cell with structural components (rooms) that are linked to each other and the outside world. People also live within suburbs, towns, cities, and countries, each of these following similar structural and functional principles.
The principle of parts bonding together to form a new and unique oneness in structure and function is universal. The birds and the bees and the sugar nut trees do it and the flowers of course do it. All in nature exhibit these basic principles.
We do things in our lives that parallel the principles outlined above. For example we build with bricks and cement. The bricks (parts) that are cemented to each other (bonds) to build walls (new unit). The walls are bonded together to build rooms, and the rooms are connected to form a house, or a new building.
Result –
In the domain of art and culture we create artwork, music, poetry and literature in an attempt to reproduce what biology does so perfectly and naturally. Each of these disciplines create elements that have parts that are organized and bonded to make a unique oneness. We evaluate the product of these disciplines, book, song, dance movie, art piece with a thumbs up, thumbs down or somewhere in between. When we are moved in a deep way the piece I believe has come close to Oneness – all the parts come together creating a new entity and we stand in awe of the product.
The Hydrogen Atom is the mother of all structure. It consists of a single positive force and a single negative force. This bonding brings about a new unit – hydrogen that has unique characteristics.
Hydrogen is the lightest of the elements and is the most abundant element in the universe, making up approximately 90 percent of all the atoms in the universe.
Hydrogen is always looking for partners to bond with. Two hydrogen atoms bond with an oxygen atom to form the water molecule.
These principles we try and to understand life around us in our environment