Inspiration:

 

 

Radical transformation is possible – by way of small steps.

A Hospitable Faith

Loving and appreciating the value of all lifts up the daily conversations with those we meet, and I hope these friends or strangers will feel called to lift up the best in themselves, share it with others, and bring a sense of change and transformation that flows back into this world. Today I recognize this was always my dream; however, it took the foundation of claiming this Unitarian Universalist faith to open the door to the opportunity I sought.

Let me share a small step I have used during these past twenty years. I repeat a UU mantra during meditation. My first mantra is: I affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Meditating, with this mantra’s guidance, settles my spirit, lifts up my soul, and encourages me to look at life through eyes that are filled with hospitality, acceptance, and love.

by Jim VanderWheele, minister of Community Church Unitarian Universalist TO READ MORE

Inspiration:

 

 

Do one thing today, however small, to change a life for the better.

Living the Loaves and Fishes

There’s the story in the Bible about Jesus and his disciples, and the loaves and fishes.  Sometimes it’s five loaves and 2 fish, sometimes more, or less.  But as the story goes, Jesus was preaching to the “multitudes” (estimated at 4 – 5,000). When meal time came, he realized there was nothing for them all to eat.  A small boy offered his meager lunch – loaves and fishes, which, when blessed by Jesus, multiplied enough to feed everyone.

I’d like to think that what really happened is that when those around Jesus saw the small child presenting his offering, they were so moved…or perhaps felt so guilty…that they, too, stepped forward and offered theirlunch; and others saw, and offered theirs, and so on, until indeed there was enough gathered to feed the crowd.  That’s the way it was at our house – we’d put out what we had, others would offer what they had.  While the meal might not always have been “balanced”, it was nourishing, filling, satisfying.  Or maybe it was the company we welcomed, or our hospitality offered, that filled that hollow.  It hardly mattered, in the end.  What made a difference is that we offered, someone accepted, and we all were blessed and enriched by our actions.  A gift that was received, and given back – or paid forward – in time.  Our hope is that we will always be able to offer the gift of hospitality to anyone.  May it be so.

by Ann Woldt TO READ MORE

Inspiration:

 

 

No chick would break out of its shell if it were still comfortable inside.

 

 

 

 

Transformation Is

Early on, I grew to love tramping through the woods hunting edible mushrooms. The little depressions filled with pine litter that bloomed after a rain in late summer into a patch of golden chanterelles, the snag that drew woodpeckers seeking sustenance flushing twice a year with the heavy fruit of sulfur shell, the sandy dry patches that bore tiny black trumpets were each and all seasonal treasures of transformation. One wonderful and magical place became yet another. The leaf litter changed to leaf mold and then back to earth and from that once again mushrooms, herbs, and trees grew anew.

Once we harvested those mushrooms, of course, another transformation went on – we washed and cut and cooked them. Those fungi nourished us, changing again. And what we did not eat or could not use went into the compost, to change again to nourishing earth.

Transformation is life, including the transformation that results in death and decay.

by Rev. Naomi King TO READ MORE

Inspiration:

Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves
from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath
have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place.”

― Rumi

Spiritual Courage

Courage and bravery, in my view, are not necessarily the same thing. Bravery, as I understand it, suggests a kind of fearlessness. Brave people face danger willingly, even eagerly, for they are not afraid.

But courage is different. Courage is less about fear and more about something deeper, something, I think, that has to do with one’s spirit or soul. Courage is doing the right thing, even in the face of those who tell us we are crazy or stupid. Courage is taking a stand and living with it. Courage is also about growth: about a willingness to change one’s mind if that is the right thing to do. A brave person may fight when called upon. A courageous person may choose not to fight even if it means certain death.

by Barbara Wells Ten Hove, Co-Minister, Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church, Bainbridge Island, Washington TO READ MORE

Inspiration:

Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. –Marianne Williamson

Finding the Blessing

(The Brewster, Massachusetts) church was built by wealthy merchants and sea captains in the 18th century. The walls of the fellowship hall are lined with pictures of sailing ships, which they were proud to display.A few years ago, one congregant asked what might seem to be an obvious question: “What were those ships carrying?” They took the question seriously, did their research, and found that many of those ships had been slavers and that, in fact, a good bit of the money that had built that beautiful church had come from the slave trade.

Knowing that history was challenging for them, especially for the few descendants of those captains who were still members. But it proved to be a blessing. They were able to reclaim their history and create a narrative about how that congregation had grown, had struggled to know what they were called to do and been transformed in the process. It was a narrative that acknowledged their past but did not leave them trapped in it.

Unitarian Universalists affirm as one of our seven principles “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” We normally understand that statement as an affirmation of our part in the natural world, and it supports our work for environmental justice. But the interdependent web is also geographical. We are a part of a world community. The web does not stop at our borders, no matter how tall the fences we may build.

And the interdependent web also exists in time. It connects us to our history, to the history of our nations and to a future. This is a faith of both memory and hope.

by Bill Sinkford, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church Of Portland, Oregon, Former President of the UUA TO READ MORE