We Breathe the Same Air
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“We have made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another.” —Qur’an 49:13
Over the past couple of weeks, smoke from wildfires in Canada spread across the United States. The skies are orange and gray, and millions of people find it hard to breathe.
The political reaction has been striking. Instead of recognizing the smoke as a sign of climate change that impacts everyone, the US administration blamed the Canadian government. We accused Canada of letting smoke “invade” the United States, and as punishment, we declared 50% tariffs on our northern neighbor. Madness.
Smoke does not care about borders. It does not know where one country ends and another begins. It does not have a passport or stop at lines on a map. The atmosphere has never worked like that.
Maybe this is the real lesson of climate change. It keeps showing us that one of our oldest beliefs, that we are separate from each other, is not true.
Throughout history, people have organized themselves by boundaries: nations, borders, property lines, and political identities. These things can be useful, but they do not define who we truly are.
The air we breathe belongs to all of us. The water that falls as rain has traveled across continents. The carbon released in one place changes life somewhere else. The choices made by one generation shape the world inherited by another. We are connected whether we acknowledge it or not.
Our wisdom traditions have been reminding us of this for centuries.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, God breathes life into humanity. The breath that animates us is not something we create. It is something we receive.
The Qur’an says that people were made into different groups and tribes “so that you may know one another.” Our differences were never meant to be reasons for division or control.
Buddhist teachers speak of interbeing, the recognition that nothing exists by itself. A tree contains the rain, the soil, the sunlight, and the countless relationships that made its life possible.
Many Indigenous traditions have long understood the earth not as a collection of resources to manage, but as a living community of relationships to which we belong.
Science tells us the same thing: we are all part of one living system.
The smoke is not the enemy. The smoke is a reminder. It reminds us that we cannot separate ourselves from one another, no matter how many walls we build or borders we draw.
The great spiritual challenge of our time is learning to live according to the truth that creation already knows: we belong to one another.
The real question is whether we will finally start living that way.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where do you notice the illusion of separateness shaping the way people respond to the challenges of our time?
What relationships, communities, or places remind you that you are part of something larger than yourself?
How might your choices change if you began each day remembering: we breathe the same air?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For Shared Breath
Holy One, You are the breath within every living thing. You move through forests and fields, oceans and cities, creatures great and small. Forgive us for the ways we have forgotten our belonging. Forgive us when we imagine that another person’s suffering is separate from our own, that another place’s wounds cannot reach us, that we can protect ourselves by turning away. Open our hearts to the truth that has always been around us: We share one earth. We share one atmosphere. We share the gift of life. Teach us to live with greater humility, greater compassion, and greater care. May we become good ancestors, faithful neighbors, and wise stewards of the world we share. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Three Breaths of Belonging
Today, pause for three intentional breaths.
With the first breath, give thanks for the gift of life you have received.
With the second breath, remember that this same air is moving through millions of other lives around the world.
With the third breath, offer gratitude for the countless relationships—human and more-than-human—that make your life possible.
Let those breaths remind you:
You are not alone.
You were never separate.
You belong.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
July 28 - September 1, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, “I Eat The Stars” by Sarah Wilson. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
August 6, 2026, 7-8pm ET - FREE EVENT - Join me in conversation with Rev. Natalia Terfa about her new book, “It All Counts: Finding God Beyond the Boundaries.” What if the moments you’ve been taught don’t “count” spiritually are actually where God is waiting to be found? Many of us were handed a version of faith that divided life into sacred and secular, holy and ordinary, faithful and doubtful. But what if those boundaries were never real? Whether you’ve left church, stayed in it, or find yourself somewhere in between, this conversation will offer fresh language for a faith that is expansive, embodied, and deeply human. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Dr. Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny, has publicly released the first lecture of a ten-lecture course he taught at the University of Toronto this past year. The course is called “Hitler and Stalin Today.” He is offering this as a public resource for students, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between history and contemporary democracy. Follow his posts here or watch on YouTube.
July 23, 2026, 2-3:00pm ET, Join Rev. Lisa Bryant for a six-session community of practice called “Imagining God with Julian of Norwich” inspired by Julian of Norwich’s The Showings, in Mirabai Starr’s vivid and accessible translation. Together, we will encounter Julian’s remarkable vision of divine love and explore what her wisdom might awaken in our own lives, spiritual practices, and understanding of God. You can learn more and sign up here.
July 29, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
My friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust have some of the coolest classes. One I am particularly drawn to is their Celtic Spirituality School where you get to learn from people like John Philip Newell, Ilia Delio, Carl McColman, Sharon Blackie, and more. Read more about their program.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.