This week: Not We What Were Expecting Edited by: SophyBells More Newsletters By This Editor
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Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred. |
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Not We What Were Expecting
So far 2020 feels like it has had a million days, and it’s only the middle of June. We are still dealing with the isolation and stress of the coronavirus, which is not, as some people seem to think, almost behind us – as well as the fight for racial justice and the end of systemic racism. Add to that our continued struggle to protect our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, concerns about the planet and global climate change, and caring for our immigrant population. Not to mention murder hornets, dust clouds, earthquakes, and an increasingly ugly political climate (and election in the US).
I was actually looking forward to 2020, waaaayyyy back in 2019. The year had such a nice ring to it - "2020 Vision" looking forward to a bright future with clear eyes and full hearts. And now it’s here, and the last few months happened, and now I just wish 2020 would be over, the sooner the better. I feel like I’ve aged 20 years in the past three months. I want to rest, to sleep, and wake up when this mess is all over. This is not the year I was expecting.
I came across this poem by Leslie Dwight a couple of weeks ago and it helped change my perspective. Instead of wishing all of the "noise" and upheaval of 2020 would go away, what if I saw 2020 as an opportunity for important change in the world?
Here is the poem:
What if 2020 isn’t canceled?
What if 2020 is the year we have been waiting for?
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw –
that it finally forces us to grow.
A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us
from our ignorant slumber.
A year we finally accept the need for change.
Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.
A year we finally band together, instead of
pushing each other further apart.
2020 isn’t canceled, but rather
it’s the most important year of them all.
- Leslie Dwight
Instead of wishing 2020 would just go away, I'm trying to keep myself open and positive to what these days might teach us, how and what we might learn from it all. I’ve been trying to stay awake – and curious, even hopeful. So, for instance – the economy has been shut down for a few months, with businesses closed and only now slowly reopening in some areas. This will be devastating overall to the national and global economy, in spite of how the markets have reacted thus far. But what if, instead of seeing this as a negative in terms of “business as usual,” this gives the world a chance to create a more just, sustainable economy going forward? What might become possible then?
The murders of Breanna Taylor and George Floyd (and so many others) seem to be waking up white folks … what if we stay awake and finally take meaningful steps to protect and honor the lives of people of color? What might become possible then? We have been quarantined for three months – in effect we have been in lockdown. What if we rediscover the value of our families and communities during this time? What might become possible then?
What if 2020 isn’t canceled, but rather
it’s the most important year of them all.
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Below you'll find some spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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