A Scottish nationalist may not like my headline. But surely whatever they had voted they would remain dependant on others. Independence is a myth perpetrated by advertisers and commentators. From the cradle to the grave we are all dependant. Unless one literally becomes a hermit fisherman living on an island, relationships and dependency are guaranteed. [Indeed even the hermit is dependent on others for air quality, and fish stocks surviving!] Others feed us, pay us, serve us and heal us. We also serve and engage with others all the time. Scotland and the whole of the UK rely on others for food and trade and income. This inter-dependence is fundamental to life, it is part of the way things are, and yet we spend so much time and energy perpetrating the myth of personal identity as if we are self-sufficient.
You may ask what this has got to do with a reflection. Simple, before you imagine that you can sort yourself out, be aware that you must also give attention to your relationships. Relationships are critical to quality of life, either for good or ill. From the depth of a marriage partnership to a corner shop acquaintance all can be important. We are relational beings, not independent machines. Our health and well-being depend on others. If we are surrounded by violence and rage we will struggle to be well. If kindness and generosity knock on our door every so often we will, by and large, flourish. Thus far, I've said nothing controversial I hope, but now I ask the question where if anywhere God fits in. In the past people tended to decide whether or not they believed in God rather than considered whether they had a relationship with God. Faith was understood as mostly cerebral. To badly paraphrase Descartes's 'I think therefore I am,' we created: I believe therefore I'm in! God was a matter of creedal belief, rational ascent and joining a religion of like-minded individuals. Of course I am not decrying the mind, but whatever philosophers might imagine, it is limited. For instance relationships cannot be summed up by what we believe, or know, or even don't know about others, it is much more. In the same way my argument is, that if God exists, then we all have a relationship with him. The air we breathe the sights that thrill us, the relationships which define us, are all somehow connected. This sense of being connected is what I call spirituality. Everyone has it, and most acknowledge it. It's mysterious and it gives meaning, It's not the same as religion, but it maybe the spark which religion came from. Sadly the Christian religion got privatized or individualized somewhere back a while, but it was a myth¦ we can't be Christians on our own, we need others and we need community.
I vote to be dependent on you!
