The commission studying the living principles of our Unitarian Universalist Association asked individual UUs to name the values they wanted our principles to uphold. They made a word cloud from the responses. Notice how big “love” and “compassion” are.
What would a religion that truly centered love and compassion be like?
Too often, people use the word “we” in a way that leaves some people out. Part of the journey of compassion is working on eliminating the barriers between “us” and “them,” but this also requires us to be honest about who we mean when we say “we” and working towards meaning everyone.
Who do you mean when you say “we?”
“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” -Lilla Watson
How do you understand our work for collective liberation?
“May we savor the beauty of our abundance and diversity, always cherishing one another and our earth. May we remember to inhale the lushness in life knowing that we are a people of beauty.” -Kimberlee Tomczak Carlson
How do you honor the beauty in diversity?
At some point, each of us has had an encounter with difference. At some point, we have learned that we are not exactly the same as other people. For some of us, that encounter came tied to messages about power, superiority and inferiority–messages that have proven toxic to us later in life.
How was it that you first learned about the differences in humanity?
