A Declaration of Interdependence

There is no doubt in my mind the American Declaration of Independence is one of the signal documents of human history. And if the 4th of July served no other purpose than to draw our attention to the Declaration, it would justify all the money and time and effort that goes into those parades and fireworks. The Declaration speaks to a deep longing of the human heart and particularly the possibilities of autonomy and self-direction.

And time flows on…

Today we need a new call, one that rests within this hard won understanding of the preciousness of the individual, but also recalls our deep connections, and beckons us to re-member.

As such we need a song of interdependence, a Declaration of Interdependence.

It appears the phrase “declaration of interdependence” was coined by vice-president Henry Wallace, and has been kicking around in the ethers ever since. The historian Will Durant gave voice to such a declaration. I really like the declaration composed by the David Suzuki Foundation. In fact many declarations have been proclaimed…

However, so far, at least, the words that call to and from the depths do not appear to have been written.

As far as I’m concerned, so far the most compelling, if still not quite there, words to that document of the heart have been put to paper by the poet Gary Snyder in his “For All.”

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as
toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

I pledge allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

I know this isn’t going to be the last word. Even yet, too narrow.

Our dreams are big.

Our hopes are vast.

That said, these are lovely first words for that hope which springs eternal from the human heart for the deep longing of our being, for dreams of what truly is and might yet be…

Happy Fourth!

Happy Independence Day!

And joyful thoughts of our coming Interdependence Day celebrations…