Harmony & Wholeness
A Reflection by Shannon Dahlstedt
As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
1 Cor 12:12,13
Member of the Band
All I wanted once my kids were school-aged was to have a skill and be a part of something that didn’t involve cooking or time-out, so I found a guitar teacher and learned to play. It was something I’d always wanted to do. At one point, my teacher told me it was time to join other players. “You can only get so proficient playing alone on your couch,” Scott said. “It’s time to learn to play with others.”
I joined the choir at church, and the most beautiful thing happened to me once in the early days of playing with that group. I stopped mid-song at practice one day and gently laid my fingers across the strings on the neck of the guitar while the singers, the pianist, the bass player, the other guitarists, and the drummer played. To my surprise, my strings continued to vibrate in unison with them! At that moment I realized the music was both inside me and outside me, and that I was an important part of the whole. Even if intellectually I knew it to be true, it seemed rare to actually notice my interdependence.
Interdependence
How does one even explain music? It can be written on the page, but without instrumentation or vocalization, it doesn’t exist. Only in collaboration with the other players and instrumentalists does it manifest. You can’t see it; you have to hear and feel it. Music requires a body to create it; it requires cooperation and harmony among multiple people. It requires all of the members to keep the same rhythm.
Remove the bass and the floor of the song is gone. Remove the soprano or alto and you’ve lost both melody and harmony. Guitar and piano establish the audible structure of the piece and provide a more felt rhythm than a metronome. While music exists without all of the elements, the most full, robust sound comes from a complete, interdependent group.
Like playing a band, a person’s unique role changes over the years. That role could be one of student, then a teacher. It could be providing comfort to those in need, then becoming the one needing care from others. It could be entering a company as a team member, and working one’s way into more creative or managerial roles. Imagine soccer without a goalie or a kitchen without the dishwasher. Each role is necessary and interdependent with the others.
It is easy for Westerners to become focused on our individual parts. Our culture constantly reinforces the idea that happiness results from getting what we want. We can lose sight of our significance in the greater community if we only look at the trajectory of our own career. It is important to remember to tend to the role one plays while also keeping an eye on the bigger picture; to remember our interdependence. To get lost in focus only on one’s own role creates isolationism. However, when both the part and the whole are kept in view, a sense of connection results in knowing God’s special participation for you with others. We must always remember to “look up” from what we are doing to make sure we are still in harmony with others.
Contemplation on interdependence is a deep looking into all phenomena in order to pierce through to their real nature, in order to see them as part of the great body of reality, and in order to see that the great body of reality is indivisible. It cannot be cut into pieces that exist separately from each other. [1]
Looking More Deeply
Leaving the solo world of my couch to share music with others brought lasting joy and deepened friendships. How have the roles you’ve played over the years connected you with God’s world? Can you discern your unique significance in your community, whether that’s your neighborhood, workplace, sport team, spiritual community, or family? What is your Divine invitation to integrate more fully with those in your sphere?
Listen to this reflection on YouTube
Continue the Conversation at Playful Spirits, Prayerful Hearts
Shannon will be bringing one of her instruments and invite us to the prayer practice of chanting as an opportunity to find peace in our daily lives. Rest assured that no background in music is necessary to participate, and you will not be asked to sing or chant in front of others! It’s a practice to help us appreciate the role of music and rhythm in prayer.
Share in a Sacred Circle
The second full week of the month, we offer three drop-in Sacred Circles on Zoom and two in person. It’s a chance to share the monthly reflection in a safe and welcoming environment. Look for an invitation with the Zoom link on the Monday of the week’s sessions. Learn more here.
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[1] Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home, (Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2011), 177.