The idea of 6 degrees of separation has become a popular past time. The idea of course is that no 2 people are more than 6 degrees separate from each other. This means that you are only 6 relationships removed from anybody else on earth.
In preparing a talk on relationships for our youth group I discovered we are 4 degrees from the spiritual advisor to the president of the United States, we are 3 degrees from the keys to the garden tomb, we are related to famous bands, musicians etc..
Statistically it could be true. If you want to join the human experiment you can join related games like.....facebook- a social network that allows members to compare friends. Facebook also has a 6 degrees application where you can join a social experiment linking all humankind. One of my favorites is the Kevin Bacon Experiment which seeks to link all actors to Kevin.
HERE is the crazy thing! Despite being so close to such huge fame, to massive influencer's, to have such imaginative tools like facebook- we are still miles and miles apart. Where does being 6 degrees from each other really get us??
Despite only being 6 relationships from an orphan dying of aids, 5 from the dollars that could save them, 4 from people who could minister justice, 3 from local injustice, 2 from local politicians, 1 from myself the first source of the problem. I realize I am a barrier creating separation. Campaigns like make poverty history, and others make me realize despite being so close, we are so disconnected. Our actions still so impact the world through the things we buy, the way we live.
The potential to make such a huge difference. The power of becoming influencer's so near our finger tips.....How do we turn this around? How do we use our 6 degrees to influence the world?? It could be that the whole 6 degrees of separation, discussions of small world concepts, the movement towards carbon neutral living, may all just highlight one thing- the weight of sin and selfishness and it's ability to thwart justice.
