I arrived here at Chicago’s O’Hare airport this morning just as the sun was rising. I cleared security quickly and now have some unexpected extra time at my gate. As I am writing this, I am observing an efficient team of workers servicing the plane I am about to board. They are checking the air pressure of the tires, adding fuel, loading luggage, and doing various other service checks. As I sit here, I am beyond grateful for their work and wish I could somehow communicate my appreciation.
I am also grateful for the people who work at the hotel I stayed at last night, that made my stay possible, the multitude of people who make up the cleaning and desk staff, the managers, the people who order and prepare the breakfast food, the list goes on and on. And I’m also thankful for the shuttle driver and for the TSA workers. And for the barista who came to work at 4:30 AM to make the coffee, I am drinking while I sit here. I see the flight crew arriving and, of course, am appreciative of their skills and knowledge as well.
If you are like me, it is easy to forget how interconnected we all are. Perhaps that is one positive we can take from the Covid-19 virus scare we are all experiencing right now. The choices an individual might be making thousands of miles away from us at this very moment could possibly end up affecting our well-being. This is, of course, always true, but today it is especially on my mind as several people around me are wearing masks, and almost all of us are using hand sanitizer. It is a small world, after all, and we are much more connected than we usually realize.
Last week I wrote about letting go. One of the things I want to let go of is my over-developed sense of individualism. As I look back over my life, I realize that I have taken excessive pride in my individual accomplishments, and have far too often diminished my interdependence on others. It’s not that personal choices and efforts are unimportant and shouldn’t be honored. It’s not an either/or, but a both/and. We are who we are because of our individual choices and because of the choices that countless others make that impact and influence us.
I am on my way to co-lead a men’s retreat in Covington, Louisiana, with Bill Miller, Greg Kerr-Wilson, and a group from Christ Episcopal Church, just north of New Orleans. One of the things we will talk about is the importance for we men to embrace our interdependency. I know for me, and for many men, this does not come easily.
In doing so, the men and I will keep the wise words of Margaret Wheatley close this weekend and beyond: “Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.”
Article by The Rev. Dr. D. Scott Stoner, Living Compass
