Choosing interdependence

Our Soul Matters themes this year are following the values articulated in the UUA bylaws proposal: generosity, justice, equity, pluralism (next month), transformation (last month), and this month interdependence. What’s different about March and April is that these values are not just practices but core truths: whether we like it or not, whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re interdependent and we’re transforming. But life is better when we are active participants.

I began writing this reflection in transit to Chicago for a collegial retreat. I was reminded that when conditions are right – and thankfully they were – I love flying. I delight in the microcommunity that forms at the gate as we depart, holds together over the extraordinary experience of hurtling through the sky, and then disperses upon arrival like water poured into a moving river. And (when conditions are right) I love the tidy anonymity of large airports, gratification of simple courtesy with people really different from myself. We may have different destinations, but we also have parallel goals. We’re interdependent. But is practicing courtesy the same as practicing interdependence?

Contrast diverse jetsetters to algae and fungus. When conditions are right, these two organisms work together to create lichen. And what are those conditions? Stress and strain. According to Robin Wall Kimmerer, “when researchers put the two together in the laboratory and provided them with ideal conditions for both alga and fungus, they gave each other the cold shoulder and proceeded to live separate lives… like the most platonic of roommates.” They may be interdependent in a theoretical sense, but you’d hardly notice it. They have no need to practice interdependence when researchers give them everything they need.

Modern airlines strive for sterile conditions, where passengers might interact as little as possible despite petri-like proximity. We are given our seat, drink, and little snack bag, and then we get to turn on the wifi and watch a movie on our ipad while waiting to arrive; no need for collaboration. When functioning ideally, air travel is a rarified version of our consumer culture: we’re all pursuing our own goals, with at most platonic interpersonal connections. Our interdependence is scripted by economic forces; it is a practice of optimization, not connection.

I wonder what it would be like 

• if we stopped pretending that flying was a normal human activity,
• if we understood that the opportunity to gaze into the inner workings of clouds is an immense privilege,
• if we treated every breath and glimpse of the journey and as a sacred gift.

What if travel were a ritual rather than a means to an end? What if instead of ignoring the guilt of our growing carbon footprint, we knew how to give deep authentic thanks to the planet for allowing us the privilege of mobility? It seems we’re all hoping for new technology that would let all of humanity live much like the current upper middle class without ruining our collective future. But on an intuitive level, I don’t think that’s going to be possible until we open our hearts and not just accept but choose interdependence.

As humans, I like to think that we have something that algae and fungi do not: we can choose to cooperate before our survival is at stake. Much of the time, we don’t. Our economy is set up to help us opt out. I have committed my life to religious community because through ritual together, I am reminded to be in awe of life. While much of my time remains goal-oriented, even when I am in service to the faith, as my spirituality deepens, more of my life feels sacred. I’m grateful for this vocation that trains me to nudge more of my interactions beyond courtesy, that makes me more and more available to meet partners in the practice of interdependence.

Do you have such a vocation? How are you accountable to practice interdependence? This month at the Fellowship and in the larger community there are numerous opportunities to get together with like-minded people to reflect on and practice interdependence: the Annual Meeting, Little Apple Pride, Regional Assembly, Earth Day, and Wisdom Keepers, to mention a few. I’m hoping that you’re putting all these events on your calendar and preparing for the rush of activity (especially during the outrageously busy third week of April). But even more, I hope you’ll do whatever it takes to be present to the profound gift of the journey of your life. Know that you wouldn’t be here if not for the majestic interplay of countless beings. And feel the invitation to join consciously in the dance.