Consider, for example, the sentence ``this book belongs
to me'' in comparison to another sentence, ``this book belongs to
you,'' spoken towards someone else. In the first case, there is an
underlying sense of selfishness because the ownership of the book is
implicitly being denied to the other person. In the second case, no
such selfishness is apparent, but rather only a sense of unselfish,
expansive generosity. Moreover, the description of our selves using
the age-old concepts of ``I'' and ``mine'' is inherently distorted by
an artificial sense of separation between the ``us'' and ``them.''
The first person of the singular implies a primacy that, while suited
perfectly to the description of the Oneness of God, nevertheless
oversimplifies the complex web of relations that relate ``us'' to
``our'' world. Indeed, the very thought of ``I'' and ``mine'' are
inextricably linked to self-centeredness. No such problem seems
apparent in the use of the second and third persons of the singular or
plural, because there is no implication of primacy.
