The Alchemy of Relationship

This Week's Quotation:

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."

—Martin Luther King Jr.

The Alchemy of Relationship

 

Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister

There is a kind of conversation that leaves you changed forever. Recently I found myself in a gathering where the participants were asked to consider the word “inspire.”  “Inspiration” comes from the Latin inspirare, meaning "to breathe into.” Breath. Spirit. Life.

As the conversation deepened, so did the mystery. I thought about the exchanges between cells that create an alchemical reaction. I thought about the air that we breathe and all the history and mystery in this life-giving substance that has been around for millenia. How every breath we take contributes to its composition: sometimes simply breathing feels like a nameless, shapeless, wordless prayer. As I breathe in, I call in (inspire) God. As I breathe out, God breathes me in.

Science tells us that in our bodies, trillions of cells exist in constant conversation with one another. Every breath is an exchange with the world around us. We are sustained by relationships we scarcely notice. We do not simply have relationships; we are relationship.

What if the deepest purpose of ceremony is not to persuade God to act, nor even to change the world directly, but simply to deepen our participation? Ceremony invites us to become conscious of the relationships that already sustain us—with one another, with the Earth, with those who came before us, and with generations yet to come.

Meditating on this, I started to think differently about conflict.

Every war begins with the belief that another life no longer belongs within the circle of our concern; we could call it a breakdown of relationship. Violence fragments. It persuades us that separation is the deepest truth.

Ceremony tells another story.

It gathers what has been scattered and invites us to remember what has been forgotten. It reminds us that even in conflict, we remain participants in one shared web of life.

I know that on the face of things, ceremony cannot prevent or stop war. But it may help prevent the kind of forgetting from which wars are born.

I like to think that is where inspiration begins—not with extraordinary ideas, but with the simple willingness to become conscious participants in the relationships that give rise to life. To recognize our destiny as one united family, not only with humanity but with all of life.

About Open Windows

We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.

We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.