Farewell, Shirley, and thank you!

Shortly before her death, which she believed would both be her next great adventure and reunite her with her deceased husband and friends, a brilliant, witty and beloved nonagenarian told me, "I'm lying here trying to look sexy for some unseen photographer."
Wow!

November 27, 2016

What is the nature of God's forgiveness?
Is God's forgiveness immediate or deferred - or sometimes immediate and sometimes deferred? 
Is it unconditional or conditional?
Is it absolute or partial?
Striving to understand and follow God’s leadings, how I treat other people reveals much about my beliefs about these matters.

Thanksgiving, USA

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Its message is not that we must be thankful; not that everything is as we'd wish; not that there are no grounds for grief, concern and anger.  And gratitude at the individual level is a matter of personal, daily choice.
I love Thanksgiving for the message to all people, of all beliefs and circumstances, that we as a society have much for which to give thanks; we have many people to whom and for whom to give thanks; and that it is good and important - it is worth closing business and government offices - to reflect on that together, and to give thanks as a nation.

November 20, 2016

“My car’s in the shop,” people say – even if it’s just a tune-up.

Here, or in any reflective meditation, particularly shared with others, I can say,

“my heart is in the shop.”

“My brain is in the shop.”

“My values are in the shop.”

“My soul is in the shop.”

November 13, 2016

This morning I heard of an embryonic movement to wear a safety pin as a sign that the wearer is someone with whom others may feel safe.  It is a clever idea.  That of God in each of us wants those who do not feel safe to feel safe; those who, having done no wrong, do not feel accepted to feel accepted; those who, having acted with courtesy and respect toward others, do not feel loved to feel loved.  But is such a sign needed?  If the sign means we are safe company for some people and not safe company for others, that is not what is needed these days.

October 9, 2016

Discomfort will come to us.  Discomfort of the body, spirit and emotions will come to each of us.  We bear it when it comes and as long as it lasts.

In contrast, fear of discomfort is a prison. 

Love, and forgiveness of others and of ourselves, are the keys.

September 25, 2016

I think God would say, “The proper role of religion is to nourish people’s spiritual lives, support their families and communities, and increase moral behavior, curiosity, creativity, peace and love.

“To the extent religion — including this one — increases self-righteousness, anxiety, conflict, violence and hatred, leave me out of it, please.”

The cost of consciousness - and of its avoidance

When consciousness is fun, it's fun.   
When it's painful, difficult, or just uncomfortable, would I rather be unconscious? At what cost?
At what cost do I tune out and choose to seek safety, comfort, amusement and gratification.

Reality check #6

Acknowledging my essential selfishness, I seek a balanced life of giving at least as much as I take. 
Which - giving or taking - is my main motivation right now? 
How does asking that question expand the choices I perceive?

Paths to growth through relationship

We often ask, "what do you do?" - a question which conveys nothing about ourselves and is at best a baby step toward relationship.
If, having shared or being willing to share something important to us, we ask, "what is important to you here?", we open the door to friendship.
If we know someone well enough to ask, "what values have served you best?", we convey openness to examining our own values, respect for the other person, and interest in his or her values.  We open a door to growth, of ourselves and of the relationship.
If, having shared or being willing to share questions we ask ourselves, we know someone well enough to ask, "what questions do you ask yourself?", we open the door to both great friendship and great growth.

August 28, 2016

“There is no such thing as a good second-hand religion,” said Dr. Scott Peck, in The Road Less Traveled.  We gather in this safe company and this peaceful place and time to seek, to explore, and to share what is true for us, respectively, about that of God which is in every person.

In considering whether to speak during Meeting for Worship, I do not presume I have God’s authority, let alone instruction, to do so.  There is just an idea or experience, a wish to share it, and a considered belief that doing so may contribute to others’ meditations and to the vitality of this welcoming community of seekers.

Religion and faith being such profoundly personal matters, their essence seems to be the truth as we respectively and as a community perceive it – each bearing our share of responsibility for pursuit of the truth; as we share it; and as we act upon it, with love.

On marriage

The commitment of marriage is ancient.  It is hugely important to those who make it, to their children, family and friends, and to society.  Indeed, it is heroic.  A fundamental conviction of true heroes is, "my comrade, my fellow citizen, or my partner, would have done it for me.”   In marriage, two people declare that that conviction will be lifelong.

What starts as confidence when two people decide to marry becomes over time the knowledge that the more consciously and constantly they seek to represent each other - and the Almighty Spirit in each human being - to the world, the better they, and the world, will be.

In marriage, they each gain not only a partner to live for: they each gain a partner to live up to.

In marriage, every act of self care is an act of care for the other, and for the union.

Though travails are expected in marriage, as in life, their nature and severity rarely is.  In marriage, every bit of the couple’s material preparation for the unexpected and, much more important, every expression of their commitment to their own, each other’s - and, God willing, their children’s - growth of character will sustain their confidence in each other and increase their ability to endure life’s travails.

July 10, 2016

In this time of national and international fear, violence, anxiety, recrimination and invective, the last thing we need is panic.

Dear God, help us to live, and share, Your peace, reconciliation and love.

American Independence Day thoughts

As we celebrate Independence Day, I think that what we Americans ask ourselves is a greater source of pride than what we tell ourselves.
What we ask of ourselves is more important than what we ask of others.
What responsibilities to each other we accept are more important to our future than our perceptions of society's duties to us.
What we truly commit to do to appreciate, develop and apply our talents and opportunities for the benefit of ourselves and our communities is more important to the future of this nation than the victories and accomplishments of the past.

Not the answer

"What helpful spirit can I bring to this moment?"  
The answer changes each time the question is asked, but it is never "fear"; it is never "hate"; and it is never "belittle".

Seeking unifying questions

I seek and welcome guidance from the Holy Spirit as I perceive it.  But I also seek unifying questions - useful questions which require no faith in God, but only intellect, concern for others as well as oneself, and kindness. Here are some drafts:
"What that is universal can I bring to this moment?"
"What contribution can I make here and now?"
"What spirit - what shared human experience that is wiser and more compassionate and powerful than I alone - can I bring to this moment?" 

Well, how about that!  It seems to come back to what my mother taught me as a child: 
"Do your best to leave things in at least as good condition as you find them."

Scarcity and abundance

When I feel scarcity, I usually want something without doing the work to get it.  It's like being in a well-stocked kitchen wishing for a Big Mac. I am neglecting imagination - other than the desired thing or feeling - and abundant opportunities.
When I accept things as they are - including imagination and opportunities and, yes, even yearning - I find abundance at hand.

June 19, 2016

Last Friday, I attended the funeral mass for a twenty-six-year-old woman.  The loss to her family and friends was heartbreaking.  The collective grief was vast and nearly overwhelming.  But the love – the shared, inspiring, comforting love – was the most powerful presence.

The recessional hymn was, “Here I am, Lord.”  In that hymn, to God’s question, “Whom shall I send?”, the refrain is “I will go Lord, if You lead me.”

When we seek a spiritual calling, when we experience such a calling, and when we act on such a calling, we are addressing, connecting with, and strengthening that seed or spark of the Holy Spirit – of the spirit of love – which is within each of us.

And when we come out from our spiritual and emotional bunkers to answer that call, we experience a freedom which is attainable in no other way.

June 5, 2016

In Meeting for Worship, I have always focused my meditations on my life: my values and my fidelity to them; my relationships with others and with society as a whole; my explorations of what I perceive as a holy spirit.
Until today.
Today, here, there appears the opportunity to try to imagine, and to understand, the lives and perspectives of others.  A sixth grader in an urban middle school with a very different home life than mine, seeking his or her place in the world.  A refugee seeking safety and freedom for his family, praying the boat from Turkey to the Greek Island of Lesbos doesn’t capsize and send them to their deaths.  A frustrated and angry American voter, trying to figure out the best thing to do for the nation in this election year.
Today I see that it means nothing to perceive myself as striving to understand and serve God – indeed, it would mean nothing to “be holy” – without constant striving for compassion.

May 15, 2016

What of God, or grace, can I bring to this moment?

Forgive someone, and show love.

What of God, or grace, can I bring to this moment?

Forgive someone else, and find some other way to show love.

Repeat for peace.

April 24, 2016

This morning’s lecture on the Coptic Gospel of Thomas included the idea that, by understanding the secret sayings of Jesus in that gospel, people could avoid tasting death.

In many religions today, as in the history of religion, there is much about the existence, description, and attainment of life after death.  Yet the same Gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus as saying, “The kingdom of God is spread over the world and men do not see it.”

I don’t claim to know, let alone understand, the secret sayings of Jesus.  But I believe heaven is not a place, but an experience available in this life – the experience, however fleeting, that everything is all right just the way it is.  If that is our experience in the last moments of life, on the threshold of leaving this life, what more could we want?

April 17, 2016

By what ethical and practical principles do I live?
Am I alert to situations where those principles conflict, where they do not seem to apply, or where I am tempted simply to ignore them?
When such situations arise, do I resolve them with a commitment to truth, love, growth and forgiveness?

Fighting evil

Evil does not need to triumph.  Evil wants only to wreak what havoc it can. 
Evil is opportunistic.  Evil does not need good people to do nothing: it just needs us to do less than enough.  
Evil thrives on our fear and self-righteousness; on our failing to recognize it or its approaching shadow, particularly in its seemingly small forms; on our doing less, individually and as a society, than we could do to detect it, name it, and fight it; and on our confusion and quarrels about how to fight it and who should fight it.  
Who should fight evil?  Each of us, as our abilities permit.

March 20, 2016

What shall we do in times of grief and trouble?

Two dear friends of this Meeting have died within the past several weeks.  Others in our circle have serious health problems and other travails.  There are many daunting, complex troubles in our communities, our nation and our world, with no clear let alone swift solutions.  There are refugees by the hundreds of thousands; vast areas of poverty and hunger; and violent conflicts, including between deeply religious people, going on for decades, generations, even centuries.

My favorite Farside cartoon, by Gary Larson, depicts a man in hell, flames all around, jauntily pushing a wheelbarrow - and whistling.  One onlooking demon says to another, “We’re just not getting to that guy.”

When grace cannot be seen, what we still have is a choice: shall we keep and focus on our confidence in grace, or shall we succumb to despair in its apparent absence?

What shall we do in times of grief and trouble?

Do not give up.

Look for grace wherever it can be found.

And strive to represent grace to others.

February 28, 2016

The recorded lecture on The New Testament which we watched this morning before Meeting dealt with the wide array of Christian faiths which have evolved from centuries of efforts to ascertain the historical facts of Jesus’s birth, life, death and resurrection; to discern His purpose and teachings; and to serve that purpose and to apply those teachings to ever-changing circumstances.  These great efforts have resulted in great differences and great conviction in the correctness of one’s views and the error of others’ views.  The history of conflict among Christians, despite Jesus’s message of love, suggests that the proverbial tree of the knowledge of good and evil is better seen as the tree of the perception of the knowledge of good and evil.