Reflecting on the fear that fuels our tribal allegiances and separates us from one another, I came across the inspirational post of indigenous elder, Steven Charleston. His messages are brief and insightful and appear a few times each week on Facebook.

The gentle but firm spirit of his commentaries appeals to our better angels and serves as a needed antidote to the accelerating volume of conflict and division.

It seems that increasingly we consign ourselves to competing clans, intent upon raising ourselves up by putting others down. We think in zero sum terms; for some of us to win, others must lose. In doing so we neglect the life-giving and sustaining cords that connect us as living beings. These bonds are the basis of compassion, love in action. They stem from what Bishop Charleston calls kinship.

Here is a simple but profound piece of wisdom from the tradition of America’s indigenous people: kinship is the spiritual cornerstone for community. Kinship is the sense of relatedness, the acknowledgement that all of life is interconnected and mutually dependent. Kinship bonds humanity to creation and unifies diversity into a matrix of compassion. It says we need one another and must care for one another, no matter how different we may seem. Kinship is the basis for an ethical society. Power builds on fear, kinship builds on trust.

Centuries ago the prophet Micah also called people to strengthen the bonds of kinship: to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly. May our hearts hear and summon the courage to turn toward each other rather than away.