Margaret Frances Sadler | Editor-in-Chief , news & views , ARTA

“ Harmony ” always takes me first to music . There ’ s nothing like standing in the middle of a Lutheran congregation and hearing all the parts of the hymn swirling around me . I ’ m in awe of those who can find the alto , tenor , and bass lines , knowing that these notes will complement the rest .

Harmony requires others — that ’ s its most striking element . There ’ s nothing solitary about harmony . Harmony requires community . Harmony requires partnership , cooperation , and togetherness — it cannot stand alone .

This reminds me of ubuntu , a concept I learned in Namibia , which many African cultures embrace . Ubuntu roughly translates as “ I am because you are ” — acknowledging the universal truth in “ a person is a person through other people .”

Once assembled , a choir or a community must find and maintain harmony to be effective and efficient . Effectiveness and efficiency are diminished without harmony . Harmony refers to congruence , to agreement and accord , to tranquility , and to story lines that weave together and complement each other . Other applications of harmony are found in colour , art , nature , and spirituality , as you ’ ll read elsewhere in this issue . In all these variations on harmony , nothing stands alone .

Partnership , cooperation , and accord call out for others .

At the risk of launching an earworm , you may recall the soft drink jingle that aimed to “ teach the world to sing in perfect harmony ,” to keep others company , to grow apple trees and honeybees , to stand hand in hand and echo peace throughout the land . Rose coloured glasses ? Perhaps not , if these can be seen as goals for our life today . Each of us can keep company with those in need , can garden for the sake of our own health and the environment , can work for peace in large and small ways . We can make changes in various ways to improve harmony in our immediate and larger world . When we consider that a person is a person through other people , we realize that our part in the whole is dependent and depends on those around us . We cannot be without each other . I am because you are . news & views SPRING 2023 | 9