We are one - a tale and an interpretation

The manifold problems of this world are deeply influenced by our societal beliefs and common myths. Some of these beliefs create a whole range of problems largely due to their misalignment with existence. Climate change is an epiphenomenon of our disconnection with nature and our metaphysical homelessness (and some other factors). Most modern problems can be traced back to deep dynamics concerning overarching myths, beliefs and value-infrastructures. There have been paradigm shifts, which led to the situation we find ourselves in today. In this situation, a shift in our common myths has to take place. This shift cannot take place through blind belief, but through realisation. The following text concerns such a realisation.

From an old tale:

"Once there was a young man and he was a prince, so his task was to build a kingdom. He was just and smart and very concerned. Many evenings he could be seen walking through the gardens, thinking. The advisors, who were accompanying him often on these strolls, knew: He was thinking about his task. He wanted the foundations of the kingdom to be firm and proper and the structure to be tall and beautiful. Day and night, he would think and stroll and study scriptures of ancient realms and far distant lands. He saw what these realms were built on and how they fared and came to the conclusion, that what he needed for his kingdom was different. He had to venture out into the world in order to find answers for his questions and questions to his answers. And as the winter was turning spring, he took his horse and two companions and, dressed like a peasant, made his way out into the world.

He travelled seven days and seven nights before he arrived at the city of Scraia. There, the buildings stood tall and powerful and the city was bustling and roaring. He was granted an audience with the king, where he asked him: 'What do your people aspire to? What do they eat, apart from bread and drink, apart from wine? What is the water that makes your kingdom thrive?'
The king pondered that question for a moment and then he said:
'It's fear. Fear of falling, fear of starving, fear of exclusion. The peasants need fear in order to function properly. It gets them out of bed and into the day.'
'That's awful!', the prince exclaimed.
'Is it? Trust me, it's a necessary evil and a burden I do not enjoy carrying, but I do carry it. This is how the world works. It's a harsh game of victory and defeat. Eat or be eaten. The wolf keeps the herd from disbanding and the enemy keeps the realm from disintegrating.' 
The prince heard these words, taken aback. He had expected something like this, but hearing it spelled out for him shook him more than he liked to admit. He saw the truth in the kings words. 'Thank you, that is all.', he said, bowed and made his way out of the palace and the city of Scraia. 

He then travelled seven days and seven nights through the strange lands and the desert and on the evening of the seventh day, as he was resting in the shade of a tree, a man came to greet him. He was dressed in fine robes and smiled widely. His eyes flickered gently as he approached. Silently, he proffered his hand and the two men greeted each other, silently. 'Who are you?', asked the prince. The man smiled. 'No one', he replied. After a pause, he added: 'And everyone.'
'But... what's your name?' asked the prince. 
'I've got many names', the man replied, 'and you're asking weird questions. If you need a word to refer to your experience of me, use Selzin. I just made that name up.' He smiled generously. 'But', he continued, 'if you will, I am also you or the stone or the olive tree.'
The prince frowned and thought for a long moment. Then a wide smile dawned on his face.
'Thank you!' exclaimed the prince, joyfully. Beaming, he repeated: 'Thank you, Selzin! You just answered the question of my travels. I would very much like you to come and be my advisor. You can do as you please, just every now and then, I wish to ask you for advice!'
'I serve no one but this little fly and the stars in the heavens. If you need answers, you will find me here.', replied the man. There was finality in the mans voice so the king did not press him. They parted and with that the prince returned and soon he became king. He was just and good and the kingdom was great and plentiful."

This story hints to some deeper truths. Could you make out why the king was so joyful?

At some point in time we have started to believe that we are separate from each other and from the world, that each of us is a separate entity which exists on planet Earth. An assortment of body parts and organs and so forth that can move and speak and that can be an "I" but that is utterly separated from the world surrounding it. We walk on planet Earth, not in it. We walk through life and there's a we and a life. There's an "I" and then there's something else. This is this is a strange occurrence because very fundamentally, there is no separation. This is not make-believe or new-age jargon, but a very scientific reality. You are an outforming, a certain chunk of matter, an extremely wondrous and intricate one too, and you are as such like a wave or an ocean. The universe has grown and converged to create you like a fruit on the tree or a like a flower. For some reason all this space and matter which again are dividing words have arranged themselves into this harmony and wonder of life and consciousness. That is an utter mystery. In that sense, there is no distinction. Everything perishes and reforms as part of a grand orchestra called existence. We are one is fundamental, hard truth. Saying that we are one with the universe is a very objective thing to say. The separation happens in a second step. It happens in our minds, in our filters. It happens in our language and culture when we say "it rains" or "the sun shines". There is an object that does the action. You don't say "rain" for the simple experience of raining, you say "it rains". There are many more examples like "the flower blooms", "the tree grows", etc. One thing does something. This is already language of separation. These concepts of the world serve us, but we too often mistake the concept for the reality. If we were to collectively realize that we in fact are one with the all, we might likely become less inclined to hurt people or nature or anything because to hurt someone would mean to hurt yourself, since I am not the constrained "I" of our common world view, but rather one flickering of a great excess of matter and spirit moving, rearranging and harmonizing, from which there is no separation. There is this thing that becomes flesh in human form and then dies and then it becomes flesh again and you are not only the flesh but the very all that first created the flesh out of the stone and the lava. You are that, which the human is suddenly formed out of. There is no separation. This is not belief, it's realisable truth. And it is powerful. Since it is a fundamental truth which can be realised easily, it has the potential to become a common myth. If we collectively realize this, we might start fostering and cultivating care for the all, since we are all and we might very well find, that there is no place for shortsightedness or implicit or explicit destruction. This does not mean that destruction will end - a very fundamental and beautiful feature of the thing we call existence seems to be ongoing destruction - but it means that a lively form of destruction will increase and a lifeless form of destruction will decrease.
We are one with the universe. Think about it, or meditate about it, or don't. 
The prince had realised that with the sages' answer. He realised, that this was going to be a foundational backbone of the kingdom he was going to build. As such, this story is a hint towards a new type of overarching societal myth.