This past Tuesday I had the awesome opportunity to see the 14th Dalai Lama in the flesh…yes, in the flesh. Of course there were about 400 people between him and myself, but it never felt that way. His broken English added a sense of mystique to his simple yet profound statements. I was deeply touched by his words on happiness, trust, and transparency. Seems simple, happiness is dependent of trust and trust cannot exist without transparency, but there are deeper implications.
Trust is a complex phenomena, according to the Dalai Lama, it is a fundamental component of human connection and as social creatures connection is survival. This triggered some of my personal obsessions with neurotransmitters and brain function. So, I instantly thought of how much oxytocin does to enhance bonding, thus, impacting human survival. It is released during intimate interactions like touch and when women give birth and breastfeed. This neurotransmitter is so important that if a child isn’t touched in the first few months of life they literally die, can you believe that. We need others so much, without them we literally cannot survive. That adds a whole new power to the pain after a break up. Well, back to the Dalai Lama and his perspective on transparency. In my mind transparency is a fundamental necessity for trust. You can’t trust someone that doesn’t show you who they are. But true transparency is difficult especially if you’ve ever been hurt before, and who hasn’t been there.
My basic take away was that all humans are chemically connected and we need each other to survive. Since this is the case, what can you do today to improve the life of another person? After all, if we are all connected, then their happiness impacts your happiness in some way…right? I hope you find away to be transparent, trust, and be happy!
Thanx Middlebury Magazine for the picture!
Cigars and Cupcakes 