Author: Laurie Gauer
Dear LFUU Members and Friends,
How are you doing? My mind is often swirling and my body buzzing. I want to stay informed, but the news has caused me a lot of worry. Worry leaves me muddled and unable to act. I’m using this technique to stop worrying and transform it into calm:
When you notice worry, pause, then,
1. Note the mental image in your mind.
2. Note the story you're telling yourself about it.
3. Note the sensations in your body caused by stress hormones.
Take 3 deep breaths to clear those hormones, then,
1. Picture a place where you feel calm.
2. Note the story you're telling yourself about it.
3. Note the sensations in your body caused by feel-good hormones.
(The first three steps are from the Calm app, which you can try for free. The rest are from HeartMath, which is free.)
Last week’s program wrapped up our theme of The Practice of Story with a workshop where we shared, listened to, and created stories about living our UU values, including Transformation. When we use the above technique, we create stories to transform from being muddled and unable to act to being clear and able to act. Acting gives us hope, inspires us to keep acting, and keeps worry at bay.
What action might I take now? When I think about doing something on my own, it feels overwhelming and impossible and maybe not helpful. But when I think about acting with a community, it feels doable and possible and helpful. For example, what we’re doing as a community this Sunday:
When I add my doable 10 lbs of food to everyone else’s 10 lbs, I know it’s possible for us to meet the goal of averaging 50 lbs for our monthly food drive, and we'll help WeCAN. And when I add my doable $10 to everyone else’s $10, I know it is possible for us to collect $200 at this month’s Soup Sunday and we'll help Sojourner House, this month’s recipient.
And when our community acts with the greater UU community, I know so much more is doable, possible, and helpful! When we connect with their amazing resources and energy, we can transform worry and inaction into calm and action. Like showing up at the state legislature and the People’s March. And those actions have given us hope and inspiration to keep acting.
This message from the UUA President the Rev. Dr. SofÃa Betancourt a week ago not only inspires me but also reminds me that we can support organizations that are long established in the fight for justice. We can also support, and possibly partner with, similar organizations in our local communities.
There are mornings when I wake with a deep need for wisdom that comes from sources beyond my own individual self – times when the struggle toward justice and the next faithful action eludes me and I find myself grateful that I am able to turn to the larger community, the legacy of my ancestors, and the shared values of our faith tradition that I hold dear. -- UUA President the Rev. Dr. SofÃa Betancourt
Last Sunday we started a conversation about what other actions we want to take as a community to live out our UU values. We will continue that conversation in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned.
What actions do you believe are doable, possible, and helpful for our community to take?