On Pilgrimage

Inspiration: 

 

Through calm seas and rough, teach me to sail toward deep water.

On Pilgrimage

What opportunities to connect with your heart are waiting for you? We may postpone them for months on end, but there’s something persistent about the nature of grace: it never goes away. It is always there to be uncovered, and it is, I believe, a significant part of our human journey as we connect with the world authentically, so that grace is unveiled and brought forth.

There are so many things in life that, if we just give them some attention, reveal far more truth and wisdom than first meets the eye. It is easy to be judgmental, to live our days in hurried anticipation of achievement after achievement, and thus lose sight of the wisdom, the beauty, and the authentic significance of what is available to us. I believe that if we pace ourselves, pay attention, and intentionally make room in our lives for genuine encounter, we can uncover grace waiting to be manifested, and thereby bless the world.

by Alan Taylor, Senior Minister, Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Oak Park, Illinois TO READ MORE


To Be Seen

Inspiration: 

 

Much of a tree, or any plant, is invisible underneath the ground. What part of you is invisible, perhaps even to yourself?

To Be Seen

No matter what our religious beliefs, being seen for who we truly are is something that most of us rarely experience.

Look around—we are a people of masks and disguises. We are a people who have been taught to transform ourselves into what others need us to be. We’ve learned the roles and rules—the art of subtle artifice. We’ve come to believe that most people don’t want to see or hear what we feel, what we need, who we are. We’ve learned that most people don’t want to see the messiness and confusion that each of us carries inside. We’ve learned that only parts of ourselves are publicly presentable. Other parts must be hidden away. For acceptability, approval or promotion, we conceal the rough edges, the broken places. Appearance is the key.

We are afraid that if anyone truly sees inside us, they will run screaming from the sight.

What have you hidden from view? What don’t you let anyone see? What don’t you let yourself see?

BY TIM KUTZMARK, MINISTER, UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS TO READ MORE


Transcending Boundaries

Inspiration: 

 

When I am present to what is in front of me, I am open to what is beyond me.

Transcending Boundaries

When I was a child, I would stand and gaze at the starry firmament and contemplate infinity. As I stood there, the boundary that is time dissolved; I expanded my Spirit to fill the boundary that is space. My being stilled and all fear, anxiety, and anguish disappeared. Forgotten were the chores, the homework, the ordinary around me. Transcending boundaries was fun in those days. But, as I reached adulthood, it became more difficult…

Today, transcending boundaries is hard work. For one thing, I’ve created more of them since I was young, and I’ve built them higher and stronger than they once were. For another thing, I’m much more self-righteous and much less humble than I was then. Sometimes, when I am at my best, I remember that the “other” I distinguish myself from could be me in another time, another place, another circumstance. Then, I remember the words of a colleague who observed that it is “my racism, my sexism, my homophobia” that I am called upon to address. So, I take a few deep breaths and begin to release the fears that are the boundaries between me and my fellow humans.

By by Yvonne Seon TO READ MORE


The Great Fullness

Inspiration: 

 

Imagine that your consciousness is an empty bowl. Into that bowl place every thing of beauty that you love – music, art, poetry, nature, the images of those you love, until the bowl overflows with beauty.



The Great Fullness

It’s nice to set aside a few minutes each day to do nothing but practice gratitude. In the morning, I have embraced lighting the flaming chalice, Unitarian Universalism’s centering symbol, as my time of intentional strengthening of the gratitude muscle.

Before I light it, I sit with the great fullness of the chalice itself, empty though it may appear. I call to mind all that surrounds and supports me: ancestors, spiritual leaders, beautiful sights, people and animals and plants, and I sit with the great fullness of all there is. The members of CLF are central in this great fullness practice, both the folks I have spoken with and the ones I have yet to meet personally.

Once I am full of all of the gifts of life, I light the chalice flame, a symbol of thanksgiving. Flame offers light and warmth, without qualification, to all. “Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere,” wrote Theodore Parker, a prominent Unitarian preacher in the 1800s. And there is the flame, happy to offer itself, like sunshine, without limitation or holding back, to all who seek light or warmth.

By Rev Meg Riley, Senior Minister, Church of the Larger Fellowship TO READ MORE


The Engaged Soul

Inspiration: 

 

What feels like being crushed could be the process which separates the gold from the ore.



The Engaged Soul

Do this for today…and maybe for tomorrow:
As you move about in the world…notice
your assumptions…notice where you need to pause and breathe deeply.
Notice where you need to
pay attention

But more than that: ask someone –
“What have you seen or noticed today that astonished you?”
And then, open your heart and listen.

By Rev Alicia Roxanne Forde, Unitarian Universalist Association Program Coordinator, Multicultural Growth & Witness. TO READ MORE