Strengthening Our Connections
April 2006
Banner photo: ©MIMOTITO/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Strengthening Our Connections -- A New Look at Life
Enjoying an intimate moment with a humming bird; the culture of the
Yanomami people of Brazil and Venezuela reflects the understanding that
the fate of humanity is inescapably linked to the fate of the
environment
[Rosa Gauditorio/UNEP/Uniphoto]
In recent years, the intricate, multidimensional fabric of interdependence in which we live has come to the forefront of human consciousness. Advances in many fields, from molecular biology to radio astronomy, have revealed the extent and depth of our connection. Science has discovered, or perhaps rediscovered, a oneness with life that was never forgotten in some cultures and which poets and artists have always striven to express.
In our world today, awareness of connection is often sparked by a heightened sense of threat or vulnerability. But understood properly it can empower us to be the agents of positive change in the world. Perspectives on interdependence presented here range from the macro level of life in the universe to the micro level of bacteria colonies.
