Author: Michael Tino

My brother had an imaginary friend named Low.  One day, when Low and my brother were talking to my Mom, my brother asked my Mom to hold Low.  My Mom obliged, but then continued with the laundry. My brother screeched, “Mom!  You’re getting Low all wet.”  I love that my brother had a friend that he cared deeply for.  Whether imaginary or not, my brother felt such friendship, love and support from Low.  -Beth Murray (CLF)

What friends do you have that bring you comfort even when they are physically not present?

A few months after I first joined a Unitarian Universalist congregation, I was invited to celebrate the Christian holiday of Maundy Thursday. At the worship, we were led in a ritual of washing each others’ feet, as Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples the day before his execution by the state. This simple and powerful ritual asked me to engage with Christianity by serving others, and helped begin the healing of my religious trauma. -Michael Tino (CLF)

How have you experienced healing from past wounds?

Jewish families around the world begin their observance of Pesach (Passover) tonight. At their seder meals, they will retell the story of the liberation of the ancient Jewish people from slavery and their long time in the desert before reaching the promised land. Through the 40 years in the desert, Moses, Aaron, and other leaders inspired their people to imagine where they were going in order for them to be able to get there.

How can you imagine a different world into being?

When I was a kid, adults often said I had a “wild” imagination. At the time, the phrase seemed a bit condescending – an emphasis on childishness, something that needed to or would be tamed as I grew up. As I reflect now, I find that wildness sacred, just as childhood is sacred. The wildness of my imagination then is something I long for now, and a trait that lives on in adult forms like my visions for ministry and a better world. I think cultivating faith requires us to cultivate that childlike wildness, the suspension of disbelief that allows us to see beauty in small things and possibilities beyond what is immediately apparent. -Steven Leigh Williams (CLF)

How do you get in touch with childlike wildness?

I have been ruminating a lot about imagination and how it is part of liberation work. One of the most imaginative and creative books I read was Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals. Even the title of the book sparks imagination and wonder. Weaving lessons from whales and dolphins to the work of liberation centers love, joy and community care. I believe expanding our imaginations to what is possible is crucial for our very survival. -Aisha Hauser (CLF)

Where do you find inspiration for imagination in unusual places?