A line emerged during our just-completed retreat, Poetry in Motion, that serves as an apt prompt for considering the reality of interdependence, which marks every moment of our experience. It comes from Wiliam Carlos Williams’s poem, The Red Wheelbarrow, which reads,
So much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
What does depend upon that red wheelbarrow? Or upon a garden spider, or a cloud billowing in the blue sky, or opening the door when the bell rings? We can be reminded here about what each thought, each action, each word we utter contributes to all of life. So much depends upon telling the truth, upon being kind, patient. So much depends upon being alert, even when dazzled by appearances. So much depends upon cultivating a warm and generous heart.