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soprano voice and piano | ca. 5 minutes
This poem was first introduced to me by a writer friend, and it spoke to me so deeply in that moment that I could not stop thinking about it. It connected to me back to my first encounter with Buddhist philosophy, specifically the concept of interbeing, which originates from the writing of Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He writes,
About thirty years ago I was looking for an English word to describe our deep interconnection with everything else. I liked the word “togetherness,” but I finally came up with the word “interbeing.” The verb “to be” can be misleading, because we cannot be by ourselves, alone. “To be” is always to “inter-be.” If we combine the prefix “inter” with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, “inter-be.” To inter-be and the action of interbeing reflects reality more accurately. We inter-are with one another and with all life.
Hanh's writing and interbeing profoundly changed my perspective and way of being in the world, and has remained an important element of my life. Harner's poem seems to stem from a similar perspective; I found it incredibly inspiring and hope to bring some of these ideals to life in the music.
soprano voice and piano | ca. 5 minutes
This poem was first introduced to me by a writer friend, and it spoke to me so deeply in that moment that I could not stop thinking about it. It connected to me back to my first encounter with Buddhist philosophy, specifically the concept of interbeing, which originates from the writing of Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He writes,
About thirty years ago I was looking for an English word to describe our deep interconnection with everything else. I liked the word “togetherness,” but I finally came up with the word “interbeing.” The verb “to be” can be misleading, because we cannot be by ourselves, alone. “To be” is always to “inter-be.” If we combine the prefix “inter” with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, “inter-be.” To inter-be and the action of interbeing reflects reality more accurately. We inter-are with one another and with all life.
Hanh's writing and interbeing profoundly changed my perspective and way of being in the world, and has remained an important element of my life. Harner's poem seems to stem from a similar perspective; I found it incredibly inspiring and hope to bring some of these ideals to life in the music.