His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that compassion, which is the foundation of peace, is
the natural outcome of recognizing and real-izing our inherent interconnectedness, our
interdependence. He teaches that nothing exists independently of anything else – we
are related to, dependent upon the rest of the Universe. We are, in fact, defined by the
infinite relationships between us and the rest of the Universe. I am a minister, a mother,
a daughter, an aunt, a grandmother, a godmother, a wife, a teacher, a voter, a student, a
knitter, a baker, a driver, a reader, a writer, a speaker, an artist, and any number of other
roles/activities. In every role I am related to an infinite number of others – in order to
knit, I must buy knitting needles, yarn, and other supplies, which someone else must sell
to me, after yet another person creates them, after still another provides the materials
from which they are created, and someone else, the support for the sheep (yarn), steel
(needles), rubber (point protectors), plastic (buttons), etc. – and that is only one of my
roles. This infinite web of interdependence exists for every aspect of my individual
identity, and for every aspect of every being’s identity – not just people, but animals and
plants, oceans and glaciers, mountains and plains.
If we are so intricately and intimately connected to our universe, how can we be
separate, alone, or isolated? How can we not feel the pain, hunger, fear, or loneliness
if anyone anywhere? How can we not feel compassion for all living things, and feeling
compassion, how can we not hold them all holy in our consciousness? Is that not the
foundation of peace? Let us nurture this essential recognition in our hearts and in our
consciousness, and peace will be the only possible presence in our world.
If this resonates with you, please take 15 – 20 minutes to marinate in this idea, to feel
your amazing interconnectedness, your intimate interdependence with all that is and be
at peace.
Love and blessings,
Rev. Dr. Sharri
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