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Dear Friends,
I wish I could bottle the smell where I am and send it to you. I'm with a gathering of UU clergy colleagues in southern California, and the flowers that are in the breeze are not familiar to me, but they make me swoon. It's been way too rainy all week but finally the sun has come out...and everyone is sitting in the sun as happy as lizards or cats.
 We are animals. Smells, breezes, brightly colored flowers, friendly eyes and warm smiles, all of these bring us to life. As you live your days, may you nurture your animal self with every form of beauty, deliciousness, and physical delight. This is not for later, when peace comes to all. It is for today, when the kids are screaming and the headlines are dire. It is for tomorrow, when we're not sure how the rent will be paid. It is for every day. May you remember to be grateful for all that holds and supports your body, precious and imperfect as you are.
Me, I'll just be sitting here eating my lunch in the sunshine, staring at flowers and trees, and putting my nose in the air like a dog with its head out the car window...
Warmly,
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We've been exploring the idea of "embodiment" this month at the CLF, and it brings up some interesting questions. What does it mean to be embodied in your faith as a member of a congregation that exists, essentially, outside our bodies? As the question has been raised in worships and small groups around what this looks like in a church setting, often the answer looks like hugs or other physical contact. Unless you find yourself near another CLF member, these things aren't really an option, here, which got me to thinking. What could it look like to be embodied in your faith as a CLF member?
For me, it's about how we connect our body and our mind and our spirit. How we show up in the world. Singing, dancing, drawing, building, creating art feels so embodied and so deeply spiritual to me. Engaging in local, national, and global justice issues by marching, making phone calls, sending postcards, attending organizing meetings is living into our values. Reading articles and books that challenge our perspectives and open us up to a deeper understanding of the world. Offering our love and care to plants, animals, and other humans is decidedly embodied and, for me, a deep manifestation of my Unitarian Universalism.
Consider this an invitation. This week, every day, take a moment in your life to be aware of something you're doing that's sacred with your body. Take a moment as you're looking out at your yard or feeling the wind on your face or tasting some delicious food or listening to a baby's laughter to be reminded what a miracle our senses are. While you're preparing a meal or writing a letter or assembling furniture or taking deep breaths reflect on the wonderful ability of your body to create. All of our bodies are capable of wonder - notice what it is yours can do.
So often we notice what hurts or isn't doing what we want it to or looks different than we want, and are tuned out from the positives. This week, spend time being in awe of what you CAN do. What feels good. How can you be fully engaged in the world? What can your body do? Wherever we are and whatever we're doing, we carry the flame of the CLF with us. We're living and modeling what it means to be a UU all the time. One of the greatest gifts of being connected with the CLF is that the whole world is our church. There isn't a place we have to go to be a part of it. Wherever you're reading this newsletter, however you engage in worship or small groups, or looking at Quest, you're actively participating in church. I'd love to hear from you, how you find yourself living out your UU values. What you've learned as you've explored this idea. Share with us in the facebook groups or drop me an email at [email protected].
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Quest for Meaning
Mondays, 2:00pm
All Times U.S. Eastern
Miss a service? Check out our recorded worship services in our
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