Interdependence is a Living Practice

Interdependence is a Living Practice

Interdependence is a living practice. Courtesy, manners, and right action are the expressions of a practice that allows brotherhood to find expression. It is most characteristic of the way of Love.

This practice begins with respect. We can respect the carpet that is walked on, the cup that is drunk from, the candle that bears light. In times past a dervish wouldn’t “put out” a candle; he would “put it to rest.” A dervish, knowing that the word dervish also means “threshold,” always paused in remembrance before stepping over the threshold. In this respect for inanimate things is the recognition of an identity between the observer and what is observed. Although the material world is not taken as the final Reality, it is considered a manifestation of Spirit and therefore worthy of respect.

If the material world deserves our gratitude and respect, if the Sufis kiss the tea glass from which they drink, how much more respect do they owe to creatures and beings?

It has been said by Muhammad’s wife, Aisha, “Humility is the foremost act of worship” (Ibn Hajar). Inner selflessness manifests itself in one’s actions.

The personality can either serve to be the reflecting lamp of our Essence – magnifying or focusing the light of the soul – or be the bushel that hides the light. Every human being carries a seed of the Essence that is meant to be actualized. This Essence has no limits; those are imposed only by the condition of the vehicle that carries it.

Living Presence

Kamir Helminski