“In all people I see myself, none more and not one a

barley-corn less,

And the good or bad I say of myself I say of them.”

- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself, Section 20

For many years I have made it my habit to read and reread Walt Whitman’s poems in the spring. I know that it is time when the Leaves of Grass sprout and the now I have lilacs, not in my dooryard, but across the street.  Last week I noticed lilacs were blooming and perfuming the air and I went and found my Whitman Reader.

There are always new insights and today it was this verse.  “In all people I see myself”.  The last few years, there seems to have been more “othering”.  I have heard angry voices over visitation and masking policies related to COVID, witnessed the inequities of healthcare coverage, and watched moral distress due to convergent values.  It seems that everyone has withdrawn to their own corners.

When we are rude, disparaging, or disrespectful and the burdens of even our unconscious biases, we are in fact doing those very things to ourselves.  These comments and behavior may make us feel better or superior for the moment but soon enough the damage is done to ourselves.

Walt Whitman, on the other hand, was a radical egalitarian who celebrated our connection to the universe and each other.  During his lifetime, he identified 100 different Americans that he saw as related to him and extrapolates his vision to see himself in everyone.  According to his logic, by corollary other people should recognize themselves in him.

As a Palliative Care Community Specialist, it is key to see that we are truly all part of humankind to bridge the gap.  To treat ourselves kindly and practice equanimity for all.  Now, in the later part of my career, efforts to help us all understand not only ourselves but each other have become prominent. 

“And the good or bad I say of myself I say of them”