“Love as a religious practice extends our compassion, solidarity, and care beyond the personal to seeking the liberation and wholeness of every person. It reminds us of our fundamental interdependence with all of life.” – Rev Susan Frederick-Gray, UUA President
How can you practice love today?
“If one tree fruits, they all fruit—there are no soloists. Not one tree in a grove, but the whole grove; not one grove in the forest, but every grove; all across the county and all across the state. The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, from “The Council of Pecans,” in Braiding Sweetgrass
How can you contribute to another being’s flourishing today?
I have often thought how many musicians playing together highlights woven melodies and harmonies, creating a magical experience of interdependent voices. An ensemble of words can do the same. -Beth Murray (CLF)
When have you experienced multiple voices together creating a stronger message?
Today, throughout the world, Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday. With the blessing of ashes upon their foreheads, they are reminded of human mortality and the need for reconciliation and repentance. And yet, the notion that we all come from dust and will one day return to it is also a profound statement of interdependence: our origins and our fate are all the same.
Seek to make amends, reparation, or reconciliation for something today.
“We covenant to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.” (UUA Seventh Principle)
What does interdependence mean to you?
