The Power of Relationships
Last year I had the honor of leading a book study for the Neighboring Movement, a nonprofit organization based in Wichita, Kansas. For six weeks, a group from across the country dove into The Connected Community: Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods by John McKnight and Cormac Russell.
One of the key concepts I took away from that time was a focus on relationships. Donald Winnicott, English pediatrician and psychoanalyst, famously said, “There’s no such thing as a baby” and “a baby alone doesn’t exist.” What exists is always a “nursing couple” – a baby plus someone who takes care of him or her.
Perhaps this is a true statement for all humans. We don’t exist alone. We need and depend on each other. I can’t count all the humans who make each day possible for me, but let’s see what a little list could start to look like:
1) People who work in our electrical grid, so my house has power
2) Teachers, staff, custodians, nutrition workers, bus drivers, and others at my kids’ schools
3) People who paved the roads and maintain them
4) People who work in the water and waste water treatment systems
5) People who grow the food I eat – the farmers, the ranchers
6) People who transport the food from where it started to where I am
7) Grocery store workers who put the food out where I can get to it
8) People who build and maintain the car I drive
9) People who love me, believe in me, and support me
You get the idea. I started thinking of a typical morning, and I didn’t even make it into the office before I was this far along. On a mission trip in the Bahamas, I was introduced to the African philosophy of ubuntu, which can be translated as “I am because we are.” Desmond Tutu described ubuntu in this way: “My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours… A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
Or we can sum it up in the famous words from the deep, philosophical work, High School Musical, and sing along with the cast – “We’re all in this together!”
Beloved, this time of year comes with a lot of expectations. We want to see our favorite movie, we want to decorate or go see other people’s decorations, we want to feel known and loved – we need a little Christmas, right this very minute! Sometimes we can do those things easily, but sometimes those things seem far away and impossible.
Think of who you know who needs a little more balance, a little more time to reconnect with their body, mind, and spirit – someone who could use a little time to feel centered, whole, and held – and then invite them to our Candlelight Yoga offering this Monday at 5:45pm. Jannet Hennard will lead us through this beautiful time together.
I am praying for you; I hope you are praying for me. We’ll continue our journey to Bethlehem on Sunday by considering the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
peace,
Pastor Jessica.