Oneness

I looked, for years, for ways with which I could meld myself with the universe. With everyone around me - both nearby and far away. I sought it in individual people, and I sought it in groups of people. I sought it in music and I sought it in physical activity. I sought it in video games, and - shamefully - I have sought it in mind-altering drugs.

Then, out of nowhere, I found it. It doesn't come from WHAT you do; it comes from who you're with and what you're doing with them. Oneness isn't the same thing as happiness - oneness is the serenity to accept yourself for who you are, and to accept others for who THEY are.

I found oneness in the strobe-lit center of a mosh pit. Giant, muscled men pushing and shoving each other - with me doing the same - to the rhythm of the music being played onstage. The frontman and musicians looking on in approval. The cameraderie and the willingness to stop all hostilities when someone actually gets hurt, to help them up and make sure that they're okay. The keen sense of brotherhood that is felt after the concert, looking at the people you were shoving just minutes ago, and grinning at them wearily as they grin right back at you.

How about that? I found Zen in a mosh pit.