a saying i have is
"we are small, but significant"
Just as every drop of water adds to the whole, every grain of sand in the shifting sands, every leaf on a tree we are all part of the whole. many lifeforms we perceive, yet many we cannot perceive.
It is easy to feel in today's society that we are all not working to a whole, that we are not like insects that scutter beneath or above the earth all serving the queen, and by extension the whole hive. We all strive to be part of something to fit in, that many would and do give their souls up to be.
We keep forgetting that we always have been, and are a part of the whole, the whole time.
Some days i personally remember of my past lives as a member of the insect family and it makes for me wanting to be part of the whole stronger. because no matter how far you were from the nest you did not feel alone, each time unit you just felt like you had a purpose, you were individual and unique yet you belonged.
It is part of why i love building computers because as each insect has a purpose of serving the hive, so does every part of a computer have function and is working together at being a computer. yes each piece is a part of the whole and when working we tend to think of the computer as a computer and forget each small piece that resides, but each part is unique and different and of course has free will when it "fries up"

So even though one may not feel a part of the human race, they always are and have been a part of the whole. a big hive of uniqueness, of individuality expressed through creation and that by just being here we are already living a purpose. so we are part of a whole and have never been away from it, just as the insect is always part of the nest, even when miles away from its brethren.