We ARE individuals, but we are not ONLY individuals. Though we are not aware of it, we actually live at three levels simultaneously, and I do not mean this in any mystical sense.

Our simplest level of life is the cellular. We are each comprised of approximately one hundred trillion cells! Each cell is a complete living organism that performs all the tasks that define life: they eat, eliminate, reproduce, and try to stay alive and healthy while avoiding harm. Each cell does two things at one time: it maintains its own health while performing a service that contributes to the health of the whole individual.

Yes, reader, you are literally a galaxy of active, living cells working to keep you alive. But can you feel the life of these individual cells? Of course not. You are conscious of only one living entity. And none of your individual cells are aware of you, either.

The third level of existence is as part of the larger group of humans (which in turn is a subgroup of the whole of life on the planet). We exist only by virtue of the activity of other humans that form our species, and of the countless generations of humans that preceded us. The well-being of humanity is dependent upon the activity of the individuals, and the well-being of the individuals is dependent upon the well-being of humanity. Like our cells, we are biologically programmed to perform functions that benefit the larger group without being aware of this programming. As it is impossible to make sense of the individual behavior of our cells without considering that they are part of a larger body, it is impossible to comprehend individual human behavior without considering its role within the larger social group.

And this is where the limitation of psychology comes in. With its overwhelming focus on the individual as the unit of life, psychology has developed a skewed image. We've sympathetically listened to the complaints of individual clients and concluded that human misery is caused by the abusive, neglectful, and traumatizing events in their lives, or by inequities resulting in handicapping conditions. In the belief that happiness comes from a life free of such events, psychology has lobbied for individual rights and entitlements - requiring society to protect people from harmful experiences and to level the playing field for those dealt a deficient biological deck.

The problem with this is that our individual happiness does not come from society guaranteeing us as pleasant a life as possible. As we see so clearly with children, the harder we try to prevent them from experiencing frustration and deprivation, the more spoiled they become. And instead of appreciating all we do for them, they explode in anger when we don't give them what they want.

The key to happiness lies not in the struggle to receive your individual entitlements, but in acting for the welfare of others. As President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." And this is what religions have understood - that we are part of something bigger. That is why religions encourage things like respecting parents, giving charity, praying for others, helping the sick, weak, and downtrodden, and loving thy neighbor as thyself. The day that psychology recognizes this fully is the day that psychology may be able to compete with religion.