I've watched the San Francisco multi-lane roads, mesmerized. During hours the highway isn't congested, the cars seem to have some magnetic force that keeps them a polite precise safe distance apart, as though the cars were one entity. When I lived in Texas, while drivers were quite friendly, traffic was more erratic, more teeth-clenching. Far more road mavericks zipped back and forth across lanes at non-constant speeds.

As humans we seem to have both tendencies, one to connect with each other on one cooperative wavelength; the opposing tendency is to forge our own paths.

Maybe it's healthy to honor both, to be in touch with the pulse of our community while at the same time in touch with our individual core wisdom. We can participate in those activities that support the happiness and well-being of all, but can also be a voice or nonparticipant when something strikes us as not quite kosher or even just not right for us. (It's been said before that in some situations, the best way to love one's government is to oppose it.) We can both play in the band and strive to avoid crowd hysteria or hierarchical pressure. We can contribute our unique perspectives to the direction of the community when our talents are relevant to the task at hand.

I think it's a strength of the United States that its constitution is designed to both support the needs of the people, and to protect the rights of the individual. We lean one way and then the other, depending on the climate, often with rancor and tedious, heated battles. Sometimes the government fails both ideals by maintaining the status quo in the face of change, or only serves itself. But the fact that for over two centuries we keep up the discussion, keep hammering out the boundaries, is a testament to our determination to maintain a practical respect for both ideals.

We keep in touch with the community, with our personal truths. We can be both a part of the galaxy, and each true to the fire of our own stars.