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| One might think that there is only one world which consists of all the nations and natural landscapes of our planet and if you lived on another planet and were viewing Earth in its entirety, this might be true. However if you live on this planet, you probably differentiate the reality embodying the outside world from the world within your mind. It would be hard to remove yourself from your inner reality and just see the outside world objectively. As a result, with the exception of young children who live wholey in the present, most of us live in, at least, two worlds, the one outside our mind and the one within it, but there are actually three. The first one, again, being the one inside our heads and the third being the one which encompasses the greater world around us like the nation we reside in and the local nightly news or even the stars at night, but their is a second world in between these other two. It contains the group of people comprising our immediate family and close friends, our job, our neighborhood and everything and everyone we come in contact with in our individual lives on a daily basis. It would be tempting to call this middle world our village, but it is not a village. It should be our village and would be in a natural existence, but in this artificial world we live in it lacks the solidarity of a village. Each of these worlds has an important function. Because so much emphasis is placed on individuality and personal achievement, especially in the United States, many people in this day and age overlook the significance of this second intermediate world consisting of the people closest to them so much so that some people disregard its need entirely. However, without it, we have no buffer between us and the world at large which is vital for protecting us from being overwhelmed with too much information and countless risks as we navigate through life trying to feel safe. The vitalness of this intermediate world is obvious in the natural world. Birds have flocks, wolves have packs, fish have schools, etc., but people, especially those living in the more developed countries, often don't have a village. It is up to one's family to supply all that is necessary for our intermediate world if a person is lucky enough to belong to one. An orphan would be the most extreme example of someone who grows up with no middle world. They are born and immediately feel completely alone on the planet. They must rely solely on their inner world to persevere, but a person does not have to be born an orphan to feel alone. Without a village, anyone can. Some even choose to live without people to make up an intermediate world. With ambitious goals of making a lot of money in the greater world or to escape an unhealthy environment, they leave the people closest to them. The invention of money falsely assures a person that they will never need anyone as long as they have a lot of it. The construct of money has been instrumental in dividing us as a people. Without an actual tribe, village, family or support system, a person's view on life can become very distorted and they will develop ways of coping with the overwhelming reality that the rest of the world confronts them with everyday. They may retreat from the greater world in a variety of different ways such as using drugs and alcohol or escaping through technology such as television or social media which at first glance gives one the impression they are actually accessing the greater world, but, in fact, it is yet another artificial invention created to keep a person in their head and out of the real world. Another widespread escape is over-consumption. Strengthening one's belief and dependence on the artificial invention of money, this unhealthy behavior takes on many forms. The world will never tell a person that this behavior is not good for them. In fact, it depends on a person's belief that it is. Their success in this world may only reinforce this misconception. The greater world does not care if we are happy or healthy. It cannot. It is a product of our collective behavior, not a manager of it. It is too big. The job of shaping who we are is that of our intermediate world, if we have one. Its purpose is to make us feel safe, physically, mentally and emotionally, while preparing us to function in the greater world. Without one, we must rely solely on our inner worlds and whatever else we can find to help us cope with life. Rather than the greater world becoming products of us, we will become products of it despite the fact that it has no concern for us whatsoever thus creating a people who have no concern for one another. Luckily, we are still human and something inside all of us will always want us to connect and never stop trying to show us the truth.
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