In Christian churches there is a 40 day period beginning Ash Wednesday and leading to Easter, that is full of meditation, prayer, and sacrifice. This is act of devotion and a spiritual practice.
While this is not a practice that all UUs participate in, it is something from our history and something that we may wish to participate in. The question might come up, “is there a Unitarian Universalist way to practice Lent?” The answer is yes. A calendar has been created by Mr. Barb Greve and Alex Kapitan. The idea is to focus on a particular word each day during lent and on the Sundays we are to reflect on the word and encourage each other to enact it in our lives. Should you choose to participate you can share your reflections with the hashtag #UULent
Here is the calendar for reference.
May your day be filled with light and the coming weeks be filled with introspection and healing.
I invite you now into a time of gratitude, reflection, renewal and hope.
What an unearned blessing to delight in the calming peace of this space;
to hear the robin’s song again at daybreak;
to feel the warmth in this room,
and to enjoy the promise of summer almost upon us.
Each moment of wakefulness has so many gifts that offer energy and delight.
Yet, too often they seem unavailable
as the weight of our troubles press down on us.
The threats to our well being, real or exaggerated,
feel like mosquitoes in the night looking for a place to land.
Minds become captive to rising flood waters: forceful, murky, threatening and ominous.
Even in moments of great danger, the direction of attention is a choice.
Fear can dominate the mind, binding it like a straitjacket.
Or love can unbind it and open it to resource and opportunity.
The soil of the mind can be watered with kindness.
The thorns can be removed one by one to appreciate the buds ready to flower.
Great possibilities await us even if all we can see is the cliff before us.
The grandeur of life, of which we are a part,
scatters rainbows in every direction, even as the deluge approaches.
Holding reality and possibility together is the holy, hope-filled work of humanity
West Virginia has taken a beating over the past week and a half. There have been massive floods, broken dams, children washed away, lives lost, houses washed away, and what feels like insurmountable damage.
There have been outcries for prayers. Prayers for West Virginia have filled my Facebook. Prayers for the flood victims. Prayers for people helping. Prayers for those still missing. Prayers for those who are found. Prayers for those who are safe. Continue reading →
Today is Good Friday. For our Christian friends this is a day of remembrance, meditation, and focusing on the dark times. Holy Week is in many ways the spiritual embodiment of the turn from Winter into Spring. It is about how the darkness is necessary to bring the light.
This theme of coming through the darkness and into the light as a better version of one’s self is a theme through many religions. The winter is often dark and brooding. We suffer through the cold and dark, not realizing what it does to us. We don’t always see the work that we do within our spirit during that time, whether it is the actual season or a dark time in our lives. When Spring returns we rejoice and dance. We often do not see the transformation in ourselves. For those who are in a dark time, the picture below helped me a lot and I hope it helps you as well. Spring is just around the corner.
Spring and Easter are often billed as for the children. I think it is because they get a lot of joy out of the season. I found a page that has 25 butterfly crafts and one that has 15 indoor/outdoor activities for spring. Yes, they are designed for children, but they are also designed for parents or grandparents to do with the children. Sometimes doing crafts can be a very meditative process. For those that prefer coloring here is a butterfly mandala to color. I hope that these simple things will bring you joy. Perhaps they can help you find the light in your dark time. Perhaps they can help you realize the growth you have made. Perhaps they will just bring you joy and that is all I wish for anyone.
We have had posts about mindfulness and how important it is for adults. What about children? This article offers fun ways to teach your child mindfulness.
Great spirit, I have had it
Bring me back to the nomadic
Way of weaving through the damage
Mindful, stay mindful
Great spirit, for my sisters
Let me be a flowing river
Flood the banks, the rocks that bind her
Carry, I’ll carry
Great, great spirit
Great, great spirit
Great spirit, for my brothers
Let me be a mountain under
Which he climbs to discover his process
Now that’s progress
Great spirit, all that hinders
Tie reminders to my fingers
I must speak with you more often
Great, great spirit
Great, great spirit
Great spirit, for my relations
Give them strength to face racism
In every single situation
Easy now, go on speak loud
Great spirit, take me instead
Guide me down the road of red
Tunkashila, I am saying, praying,
Great, great spirit
Great, great spirit
Tunkashila (grandfather)
Tunkashila
Tunkashila
Tunkashila
Great spirit, just don’t collapse
Nothing but the earth will last
And I’ll be singing sweetly into the darkness
Now hark this
Great spirit on my tongue,
Be still, be still
The time will come when everyone will sing
All life is sacred,
While I’m waiting
Great spirit, my fist is up
Bringing the power to the people, you’re reflection of us
Some of your people can’t hear it, the cries of the earth
Some of your people can’t feel it, the way that it hurts
And it hurts, great spirit
And it moves, great spirit
Interconnected in the wreckage of a paradigm on its way out
Its way out
Speakin’ a spiritual lyrical testimony
The spirit that did resist weavin’ around false prophesies
Spirit directed and selected with the message I bring
While the ship slowly sinks I’ve been directed to sing
I’m like a wreckin’ ball breakin’ down the walls of the past
A minimalist livin’ on bliss with the last of my cash
You’re gonna be justified with how you treated the land
You’re gonna be by my side when I stand and demand a change
Tunkashila
Tunkashila
Tunkashila
Tunkashila
Great, great spirit
Great, great spirit
Tunkashila
This song speaks to me on many levels. I really enjoyed the dancing in the video. I hope it brings you peace and thoughts.
West Fork Unitarian Universalists 