No (wo)man is an island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. 

-From John Donne's Meditation XVII        

I have been thinking about this poem lately for a reason that is almost too ridiculous to admit. In the spirit of the Real World confessional, I will come clean . . . I watched the first episode of TLC's Sister Wives. If you know what show I am talking about-- stop judging. You know you're dying to watch it! If you have never heard of this show, you're probably better off but I will inform you just the same. Sister Wives is a reality show following the lives of a polygamist family (one husband, three wives and their respective litters of children). 

I could go on and on about how sexist a polygamist lifestyle is and how I am shocked that Big Love was so damn accurate, but I won't. It's not super fun to read others' rantings. What I will say is that Sister Wives reminded me of something so true about our humanity: we crave community.

While I wanted to punch the husband in his face, I actually found myself identifying with much of what the sister wives were saying. They wanted other women around to help them with their kids, support their daily lives and be there if something were to happen to them. Of course I felt like shouting "get friends, not sister wives, you brainwashed idiots!" at the screen, but something stopped me. Even though I completely disagree with the way they have found their community, I can't disagree with their desire for it. 

After all, it is my desire for community that leads me to my faith. Even to my yoga practice. In both Christianity and yoga, community is supremely valued. John Donne's poem echoes the passage from 1 Corinthians 12 that compares a spiritual community to a physical body: every part is essential and, standing alone, can do nothing. For Hindues (who brought us yoga), the Bhagavad Gita asserts the connectedness of all creation over and over again.

Even if a person is not religious or interested in spirituality, I think we can all agree that we need each other. Things are just better together. Think about it: Harry Potter doesn't go searching for Horcruxes on his own but brings Hermione and Ron with him. 

Yes, that was a freak flag. 

So, just do me a favor. Don't take a sister wife. They're creepy. Find other ways to get your community on.