It seems a bit odd, the beauty of the world outside our windows – the bright fall sunshine, the crispness of the air, the leaves turning brilliant colors – while the world is in turmoil around us. Our days and nights are filled with the fears and anxieties of this time like no other, when we can barely catch our breath as we move from one worry-filled day to the next.
But it is all those fears and anxieties, all the turmoil and uncertainty, that make noticing the beauty that surrounds us, the beauty of which we are an integral part, that much more important. There is healing and hope to be found in the rhythms of the world, in the familiarity of the changing seasons, in our connection to the earth.
This all reminds me of the old Buddhist saying that we should meditate for an hour every day, unless we are very busy, in which case we should meditate for 2 hours.
In this frantic, anxious time, it is easy to feel that there is so much we should do to heal the world, to work toward justice, that we do not have time to stop and notice beauty or to take a breath and feel our own place in the world. That doing so is somehow self-indulgent or yet another sign of privilege. But it is exactly at times like these when taking that time is most important.
As your recently named Lay Minister for Worship & Arts, I have been impressed and grateful for all the ways the UUCF community reminds us to stop and rest for a moment, to treasure the beauty of the world and know ourselves to be intimately a part of it. There are the Sunday morning worship services, of course. And if everyone knew how much staff time and effort and love go into those services, we would … I don’t know … immediately work toward tripling everyone’s salary.
There are also many other opportunities to remind ourselves of all that holds us even in this difficult time. The monthly Friday night services, the next of which is on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The gatherings of musicians and artists, simply to check in with one another. The sight-singing class, which calls on the power of the human voice and points toward the day when we might again gather and sing together. All the small groups that are finding ways to be together. The fall altar we are currently building together on our UUCF campus. All of these offer us the chance to know again why this world is worth fighting for.
I hope that you will find ways to be a part of these moments, to remember how important it is to make time to notice beauty, feel connection, rest. This is what will give us the strength to carry on, and what will hold us until we once again can hold one another.