ON ANOTHER LEVEL
“All Is Related”
In preparing to write this column, I pondered this month’s theme, relatedness, and asked myself, “To what do I feel related?” I made a list of things that came to mind: family, friends, colleagues, school mates, church members, ancestors, neighbors, pets, trees, the earth. Some of these connections are obvious but some are less apparent.
I wanted to make sure I knew how relatedness was defined. So I did a quick Google search. As you might guess, relatedness means being connected, “especially by kinship, marriage, or common origin.” I like this idea of common origin to explain all of our connections. It seems to me it means we are in relatedness to everything that is, was, and will be no matter how we believe it all came to be.
Additionally, relatedness “is considered a basic psychological need to establish mutual respect and reliance with others.” Furthermore, “It is the universal want to interact, be connected to, and experience caring for others.” So relatedness is also experiential and interactive. We are called to do things that increase our relatedness through compassion and concern. We are born with the desire to be in relationship in ways that benefit all because we are interdependent and we must act in order to be in good relationship with others, with the earth, with all of being.
I experienced this inclusive awareness of relatedness when I started our first vegetable garden here at the lake house a few weeks ago. I identified the spot, put in three raised beds, filled them with some compost and good soil, planted some lettuce, spinach, and parsley, and transplanted some chives from my daughter’s garden. My grandchildren dug up some worms to add to the beds. Later this spring we’ll plant warm weather veggies. Doing this all made me feel more rooted in my new home. My sense of belonging will grow along with my veggies. I am in relationship with the earth and with all that is.
I hope that you will find ways to experience relatedness in all in forms and ways.
Love,
Vicki Merriam, Director of Religious Education
