Friends,
I recently was invited to participate in the Ohio-Meadville District Ministers retreat. One of my takeaways was being present to the deep questions in front of us, just under the surface.
With Passover, with Easter, with Ramadan and Eid—all so recent—it is easy to overlook the deep meaning of these traditions within the Abrahamic branches. There are so many ways to contemplate and reflect on them, and the recurring theme is resistance.
These questions were:
• What good inside of you is resisted by you?
• What obstacles are in your path along your journey that offer resistance to your travels and goals?
• Where do you find love in your self care/what lightens your load?
As you think through these questions, don’t just let a simple answer suffice. There is a tradition that I was taught while studying at Antioch—to ask ‘Why’ five times. Not just harnessing your inner two year old, it is a way to get to the core of an issue.
Words from Rumi to reflect upon:
Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder…
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing
myself…
Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure…
For each of us, I pray that old escapes into new and that we remember our connections to friends and neighbors and strangers, our connections to all life and all material. And that we find newness in life in this changing world. I hope May flowers find you and graduation parties allow you to celebrate accomplishment and to see loved ones.
Peace,
— Rev. Will