Healing yourself is connected with healing others.

Yoko Ono, artist of peace and prophetess of human connection, once declared with quiet yet enduring power: “Healing yourself is connected with healing others.” In these words lies a truth that transcends borders, cultures, and ages. The human soul is not an isolated island but a part of a vast ocean, where every wave touches another. When one heals, the light of that healing spreads outward; when one suffers, that wound ripples into the lives of many. Thus, self-healing is never selfish—it is an offering to the whole of humanity.

The ancients also spoke of this law of interdependence. In the teachings of the Buddha, the monk is told that compassion for oneself and compassion for others are not two different paths but one road. To heal the anger or hatred within is to cease pouring poison into the world. The Greeks, too, believed in the harmony of the cosmos, where the health of the soul affected the health of the city. Yoko Ono, in modern times, gave voice to the same wisdom: inner restoration is bound to outer restoration.

History gives us luminous examples. Consider the life of Nelson Mandela. After decades of imprisonment, he could have emerged filled with bitterness, his wounds deep and festering. But he chose instead to heal himself, to release the chains of hatred from his own heart. Because he healed himself, he could offer healing to a fractured South Africa. His inner victory against despair became the seed of national reconciliation. His life testifies that self-healing is the beginning of collective healing.

We also see this truth in the story of Florence Nightingale. Her tireless care for the wounded in the Crimean War was not born from untouched strength, but from her own struggles with illness and isolation. By facing her own pain and finding meaning in it, she transformed it into a wellspring of compassion for others. Her healing of self and others were bound together, each strengthening the other, until her light changed the course of medicine itself.

To heal yourself is not to close yourself off from the world, but to prepare yourself to give more fully to it. A broken vessel cannot pour without spilling, but a restored one can give abundantly. Likewise, to heal others often becomes a mirror that reflects healing back upon yourself. In serving, in comforting, in loving, we find our own wounds softened. Thus, the two—self and others—form a circle, each healing the other, each sustaining the other.

The danger lies in believing we can ignore one for the other. To help others without tending to our own wounds often breeds resentment or exhaustion. To heal ourselves without ever serving others breeds isolation and selfishness. Balance is the key: as we care for ourselves, we become more capable of caring for others; as we care for others, we find our own hearts mended.

The lesson, children of tomorrow, is this: never think of healing as a solitary act. Every step you take toward wholeness makes you a greater force of peace in the world. Every act of kindness you show to others becomes a balm for your own hidden scars. Life is not divided between “me” and “them,” for the spirit of man is one body, and the healing of one part strengthens the whole.

Practical action flows from this: Take time to nurture your own well-being—rest, forgive yourself, pursue peace within your heart. Then extend that peace outward: comfort a friend, serve the needy, listen with compassion. Let your own healing become fuel for the healing of others, and let their healing echo back into your soul. For as Yoko Ono reminds us, to heal oneself is to heal the world, and to heal the world is to heal oneself. This is the eternal circle of compassion and renewal.