The emphasis of the title is the word “with”. I wrote it like this because my focus is on collectivism and wholeness. This wholeness seemingly contrasts with the idea of individuality. I’d like to delve into my thoughts on this relationship.

When I think of the “collective”, I think about the unification of several individual parts. There is variance in perspective between the different parts of the whole and this is where diversity is found. For the sake of this illustration, let’s say that each “part” is a human. The reality of one person varies in appearance to the reality of another. They have different vantage points and therefore see the rest of the world differently.

I’ve been thinking about celebration and how for example, in a choir, the beauty is eccentuated due to variance in pitch and timbre of the different singers. A choir where all the singers sound the same has a different effect from one where there are basses, sopranos and everything in between. The differences in posessed qualities of each person allows for a richer resultant texture and experience for both the listener and the singers themselves.

Another instance where music shows this is ‘resultant notes’, this is where “a third and/or fourth note is produced when two loud notes are played simultaneously” The resonance of the relationship between one and another, brings forth a previously unknown reality.

Community is an interesting concept, the idea of specialisation comes to mind. People having different roles to ensure that everyone’s needs are met, alongside a general sense of collectivism and unity.

The things that make us different and distinguishable from one another are often the basis of prejudice. The “otherness” of people can be seen as a reason to discriminate or as an enriching factor to bring about a more diverse reality.

The interaction of ideas and the friction of a thought against another leads to new solutions. The likelihood that you come across a novel idea is increased when you decide to interact with perspectives that are foreign to you.

I believe the celebration of oneself is more potent and enriching when done WITH the collective. This leads me to the question of how does one celebrate oneself with others. I will write about this next week.

See ya,

Russ