Our September meeting was led by Lucy and it recognised the general anxiety, doubt and uncertainty of the times. Some words to help us through such times were taken from two sources - the New Testament of the Bible and an ancient Chinese tale. Both of these challenged us to change our perceptions of what is happening to us and around us and so to open our minds to the opportunities and freedoms we do actually already have.
We contrasted our own uncertainties with how we react to and feel about people whose beliefs deal only in certainties. We found we may not be dissimilar after all. We lit many candles of intent remembering issues and people that matter deeply to us and we also shared the humour on some fridge magnets ! The music we listened to reflected the joy of living, and how when we work towards fellowship we will find that humans are their own masters and will not have to look beyond their own experience and insight for guidance.
In these summer months, some are in a
position to be able to take a break from their usual routine and even go to a different
place, for rest, refreshment and recuperation.
We call these breaks “holidays” and this could be spelt “whole-days”
for they are a valuable tool in making us whole again.
The gift of becoming whole again after a
period of being worn out, of splintering, alienation, tension, stress, and even
injury has traditionally been seen as coming from the gods, and there is
something in us as humans that feels grateful and even wants to say “thank you”
for it. Even for people to whom the words
“god” or “gods” seem meaningless there often remains this sense of gratefulness,
though it may be difficult to know to where it could be directed. Let us just note that this floating
gratefulness, which we all sense from time to time, is part of the mystery of being
human, and that the word “mystery” originally meant “those things that it is
impossible to speak of”.
For those people who can in some way associate
a meaning with the word “god” it comes as no surprise to feel “mystery”. For many people, the word “god” is merely a
reverential synonym for the word “mystery”, and they use it to refer to the
ultimate mystery, the whatever it is that is the absolute fabric or rule that
arches over all the gaps in our knowledge, experience and sensation of living in the
universe.
As we muse on the opportunity to take
a break, and what it might mean to be grateful for that, let us also remember those who cannot get
away from their usual routine. Especially
those for whom the usual routine means violence, oppression, incarceration,
violation, lack of shelter, instability, disease, starvation, thirst.
May we in our gratefulness remain open
to the humane task of helping where we can, for no other reasons firstly that we are
able to do so and secondly that doing so seems very often to be creative and in fulfilment
of who we as humans are.
The August worship meeting of Didymus (Ringwood Unitarians)
was on Sunday 10 August. Darren led the
meeting.
The theme was the need to engage with environmental issues as this Earth is particularly us and we it.
