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We need each other, deeper than anyone ever dares to admit even to themselves. – Patch Adams

By Shawn McAndrew

we need each otherHumans need other humans. We need the physical touch. Communication with each other is necessary. We all need to feel wanted and to be useful in some ways.

Human Interaction Is Essential

Studies have shown that human interaction is essential for brain development. Socializing and being with others help to release vital chemicals in our bodies that aid physical, emotional, and intellectual health and well-being. According to an article in Physiology Reviews, neuroscientists agree that “…humans and their brains and minds are shaped, and normally function, in continuous interaction with other people.”

Needing each other is not limited to our inner circles, our families, and our close friends. We need each other on so many levels. People who make us feel good are valuable to us. Those who challenge us can be a blessing in our lives. If we aren’t challenged, we don’t seek betterment. When all is rosy and perfect, we don’t experience variety and seek resolutions.

Living Life to the Fullest

If you think back to your life before the Process, or pre-Hoffman Essentials, were you living life to the fullest? Did you recognize the good things in your life? Or did you just focus on the negative?

Were you able to recognize the lessons that could be gained from an unpleasant or painful experience? Or were you able to truly let go and feel the pure meaning of the moment?

Why We Need Each Other

Why we need each other is simple – we learn from each other. No matter how much someone may irritate you, or trigger negative patterns, there’s usually an opportunity for awareness, shift, enlightenment, to let go.

As humans, we always have the choice to learn something from others. Opening our hearts to those we may not agree with politically, theoretically, religiously, or fundamentally allows us to widen our knowledge.

Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm. When we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike. – Maya Angelou

Learning From Each Other

I have a neighbor who is likely the opposite of me on many things. Yet I look at him and see someone who has a lot of love and care for others. I relate to him on basic human levels, and that creates a connection between us.

He may help me learn something about myself. I might come to understand a different point of view from him. Perhaps he will learn something from me.

We don’t always know how our interactions with others will affect them. We can’t always predict how others will impact us. But we can open ourselves to the possibilities, the opportunities.

Spiritual Beings Having Human Experiences

If we close ourselves off from people who don’t think like we do, or vote like we do, or pray like we do, we stunt our growth and suffocate our minds. We are, after all, spiritual beings having a human experience.

If we recognize and greet the spirit in every person we encounter, how would that change our day? Would that change our lives? Could that change the world in which we live? Let’s give ourselves the chance to find out.

Note: After 6 years of publishing a weekly blog (though occasionally we skipped a week), there are new and exciting responsibilities that are clamoring for my time. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my stories here, as well as interviewing many Hoffman grads and sharing their lives with you. I’ve enjoyed and been honored to receive blogs from many Hoffman Process grads and Essential participants whose stories have moved, inspired, and enlightened me and hopefully you as well.

We will continue to publish blogs occasionally. If you would like to share your Hoffman story, please drop me a line. Also, I invite you to read our rich treasure trove of past blogs. I am deeply impressed by the triumphs and insights that our Hoffman community has contributed over the years. We really do need each other!

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