Together Alone

Let me say it: we’re herd animals.

Ja, even those of us who claim to be lone wolves still secretly like belonging somewhere…be it a family, a book club, a football team, or an obscure online forum for vintage clothes.

From the moment we’re born, we start getting placed into groups:

Family.

Class at school.

The cool kids.

The not-so-cool kids.

Our local town, our country, our continent.

Race, gender, religion, culture, politics, hobbies, online gaming clans…you name it.

And on the surface, there’s nothing wrong with that.

We like being with others. We want to share, laugh, feel safe.

It feels good to be seen, to be part of something.

But here’s the spiritual twist:

The ego also LOVES groups.

Why?

Because groups create identity.

And identity is the ego’s favorite playground.

It tells us: “You’re not just you, you’re one of us. And they are not.”

So, instead of using groups to remember we are One, we use them to reinforce separation.

Us vs. them.

Better vs. worse.

Right vs. wrong.

Think of the classic family drama:

A Sunday dinner that starts with soup and ends in silent warfare because someone voted differently, lives differently, or said something “you just don’t say in this family.”

Or think of schoolyard groups:

“Come sit with us, but don’t talk to them.”

Or even spiritual communities:

“We are awakened… unlike those poor lost souls over there.”

The ego doesn’t mind what the group is about, as long as it helps define an “us” that excludes a “them.”

But here’s where A Course in Miracles gently interrupts the script:

“There is no ‘them’. There is only ‘you’. And that ‘you’ is not a body, not a personality, not a political opinion, but a radiant extension of Love.”

Belonging isn’t wrong.

It’s just that real belonging doesn’t come from being in the right group, it comes from remembering that we’ve never left the One Mind.

So yes, join the choir, play for the team, go to book club, dance in that spiritual circle, but let each group become a classroom where we practice love instead of judgment.

Let every gathering remind us:

“This is not about who I’m better than, or who agrees with me.

This is an invitation to see the Christ in everyone.”

Even Uncle Barry with his conspiracy theories.

Even our neighbor’s annoying dog.

Even an ex.

The ego builds walls with group identity.

Spirit uses the same groups to help us tear them down.

So next time we feel part of a group, let’s smile and ask gently:

“Am I here to feel special? Or am I here to remember we are the same?”

Because in the end, there’s only One group:

The Sonship.

No admission fees. No dress codes. No judgment.

Just Love.

With love and light,

G.