For years -- decades, even -- we've been ingrained to think about how we're all so different, each of us with our own circumstances that make us wonderfully unique. As children, we're told about how special we are; as angst-ridden teens, we feel like no one else can possibly relate to our unique plights; as adults, we may believe that our particular talents keep us above the fray. Through it all, the message is clear: Uniqueness is a form of power.
But is it really? Spiritual teacher and author Marianne Williamson doesn't think so. In fact, as she says in a recent talk for Oprah's "SuperSoul Sessions" speaker series, Williamson believes the exact opposite thought is far more powerful.
"I've got to tell you something. The highest power position -- the highest power thought -- is not, 'I am unique,'" Williamson states. "The highest power thought is, 'I'm just like everybody else. I'm just as wounded as everybody else. I'm just as hurt as everybody else. I'm just as hungry [for] love as everybody else.'"
What happens when you shift your perspective like this, Williamson continues, is something truly empowering.
"That gives your empathy. That gives your compassion," she says.
Once this empathy enters into your life, it's as if a switch flips and things like relationships no longer seem to require as much exertion or effort. They seem to flow much more naturally.
"Then, relationships aren't even something you have to strive for," Williamson explains. "Relationship ... is simply the primal state of being."
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