Renewal
10/24/20, KatheyAdapted from the Soul Matters program by the UUARenewal
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Topic: Note to Self (Renewal Part 1)ZUUm-ready1. Email introduction includesAn exerciseA question to guide discussionA link to advice (from the Soul Matters packet)2. Opening and closing words
1. Introduction by emailDear Circle,Rev. Jason and Mary Botts (UUCF Chalice Circle Coordinator) ask us to visit the fall theme ofrenewal, here at the beginning of the congregational year. This session was adapted fromUUA Small Group Ministry materials they forwarded.Fall is a season of homecoming for us UUs. And renewal is central to that. At the opening ofeach new church year, we renew our commitments to each other and our churchcommunity. We renew our energy for another year of journeying together.In our culture and secular lives, the questions we ask about renewal focus mainly on health(Are you drinking enough water? Are you getting enough sleep?”) and work/life balance(Are you making enough time for family, play and rest?).Unitarian Universalism also asks renewal questions like these:Are you sure it’s your body that’s tired, or could it be your soul?What if “time away” isn’t about restoring ourselves in order to return to our work, butinstead about making space to decide if it’s time to reconfigure ourselves and re-imaginewhat our true “work” is?Is it time to renew your responsibility to those who will come after you?Is it time to renew your commitment to carry on the work of those who came before us?What if you saw your daily living and loving as an opportunity (even a calling) to renewothers’ faith in humanity?Could it be that continual self-improvement is not the path to renewal but insteadcompassionate acceptance of who you already are, warts and all?What if renewing our common future isn’t just about moving forward, but instead requiresa return to an honest telling of the past?Let’s renew and refresh the renewal questions we ask.Let’s remind ourselves that, indeed, we change our lives by changing the questions we ask.
ExerciseCatch Up On a Couple of Commitments to YourselfIn her poem, My Commitments to Myself, Laura Mancuso lists all the things she does for self-care and self-renewal. To read it is to be reminded of the many avenues available to us forpersonal rejuvenation. It’s also a reminder that refreshing our spirits is more than a one-time orsingular thing. To feel grounded and full takes continuing care through the use of numerouscarefully chosen commitments.
My Commitments to Myselfby Laura “Luna" Mancuso, an ordained interfaith ministerI take care of myself first, because I am deserving of exquisite care.I take care of myself to maintain the capacity to help others.I move and stretch my body every day.I spend time in nature, attuning my senses to the earth's wisdom.I ration my daily exposure to the news. I identify and access credible sources of information.I protect myself from becoming overwhelmed by information about the pandemic.I pace myself.I sit with the reality of uncertainty and impermanence, and allow it to temper my desirefor control.I listen without judgment to others' reactions, which may be different from mine.I forgive myself and others when stress brings out our shadow selves.I feel fear fully when I am fearful.I experience sadness fully when I am sad.I allow anger fully when I am angry.I relish joy fully when I am joyful.I seek out healthy pleasures and indulge in them without guilt.I remind myself that feelings are transient states that move through me. They do not last. Andthey do not define me. Nor do my thoughts.I balance my drive for self-improvement with compassionate acceptance of myselfas I am right now.I initiate contact with loved ones to let them know I hold them in my heart.I seek out, with increased sensitivity, those who are the most vulnerable.If possible, I share my resources with those who need help to survive.When possible, I move away from people, situations, and experiences that do not serve myhighest good.I strengthen my connection to my sources of spiritual strength so that I continueto be replenished.I acknowledge the nearness of death as a key motivator for living a full life.I pray for the suffering of all beings to cease.I grieve my losses and celebrate my successes.I remain open to new ways of being, surprising sources of joy, and unanticipated discoveriesevery day.Question to guide discussion
Are there commitments from Laura Mancuso’s list that you also want to renew?
How to Feel Better When You Don’t Know What’s Wronghttps://www.raptitude.com/2020/06/how-to-feel-better-when-you-dont-know-whats-wrong/Cabinet door list as a tool
2. Opening and Closing WordsOpeningMark Nepo, poetExcerpt from Always Building and MendingThe birds pausing from their tasks became silent teachers,saying without saying that we need to fall in love with the ordinary rhythms of life,again and again.And when the tasks are done or have become too heavy to complete, we need topause and perch atop our worries and concerns.So we can return to the world and do what needs to be done, until what sustainsus reveals itself like the inside of a seed cracked by our beak…
ClosingWhen shadows loom in your days and in your heartDo not despairWhat has been defiled may be restoredWhat has been made profane may be reconsecratedWhat has been broken down may once again be raised upThe sacred connection can be obscured,but never dissolvedGo in peaceGo in loveGo with the faith that wholenessis ever within reach.
Topic: Note to Self (Renewal Part 1)ZUUm-ready1. Email introduction includesAn exerciseA question to guide discussionA link to advice (from the Soul Matters packet)2. Opening and closing words
1. Introduction by emailDear Circle,Rev. Jason and Mary Botts (UUCF Chalice Circle Coordinator) ask us to visit the fall theme ofrenewal, here at the beginning of the congregational year. This session was adapted fromUUA Small Group Ministry materials they forwarded.Fall is a season of homecoming for us UUs. And renewal is central to that. At the opening ofeach new church year, we renew our commitments to each other and our churchcommunity. We renew our energy for another year of journeying together.In our culture and secular lives, the questions we ask about renewal focus mainly on health(Are you drinking enough water? Are you getting enough sleep?”) and work/life balance(Are you making enough time for family, play and rest?).Unitarian Universalism also asks renewal questions like these:Are you sure it’s your body that’s tired, or could it be your soul?What if “time away” isn’t about restoring ourselves in order to return to our work, butinstead about making space to decide if it’s time to reconfigure ourselves and re-imaginewhat our true “work” is?Is it time to renew your responsibility to those who will come after you?Is it time to renew your commitment to carry on the work of those who came before us?What if you saw your daily living and loving as an opportunity (even a calling) to renewothers’ faith in humanity?Could it be that continual self-improvement is not the path to renewal but insteadcompassionate acceptance of who you already are, warts and all?What if renewing our common future isn’t just about moving forward, but instead requiresa return to an honest telling of the past?Let’s renew and refresh the renewal questions we ask.Let’s remind ourselves that, indeed, we change our lives by changing the questions we ask.
ExerciseCatch Up On a Couple of Commitments to YourselfIn her poem, My Commitments to Myself, Laura Mancuso lists all the things she does for self-care and self-renewal. To read it is to be reminded of the many avenues available to us forpersonal rejuvenation. It’s also a reminder that refreshing our spirits is more than a one-time orsingular thing. To feel grounded and full takes continuing care through the use of numerouscarefully chosen commitments.
My Commitments to Myselfby Laura “Luna" Mancuso, an ordained interfaith ministerI take care of myself first, because I am deserving of exquisite care.I take care of myself to maintain the capacity to help others.I move and stretch my body every day.I spend time in nature, attuning my senses to the earth's wisdom.I ration my daily exposure to the news. I identify and access credible sources of information.I protect myself from becoming overwhelmed by information about the pandemic.I pace myself.I sit with the reality of uncertainty and impermanence, and allow it to temper my desirefor control.I listen without judgment to others' reactions, which may be different from mine.I forgive myself and others when stress brings out our shadow selves.I feel fear fully when I am fearful.I experience sadness fully when I am sad.I allow anger fully when I am angry.I relish joy fully when I am joyful.I seek out healthy pleasures and indulge in them without guilt.I remind myself that feelings are transient states that move through me. They do not last. Andthey do not define me. Nor do my thoughts.I balance my drive for self-improvement with compassionate acceptance of myselfas I am right now.I initiate contact with loved ones to let them know I hold them in my heart.I seek out, with increased sensitivity, those who are the most vulnerable.If possible, I share my resources with those who need help to survive.When possible, I move away from people, situations, and experiences that do not serve myhighest good.I strengthen my connection to my sources of spiritual strength so that I continueto be replenished.I acknowledge the nearness of death as a key motivator for living a full life.I pray for the suffering of all beings to cease.I grieve my losses and celebrate my successes.I remain open to new ways of being, surprising sources of joy, and unanticipated discoveriesevery day.Question to guide discussion
Are there commitments from Laura Mancuso’s list that you also want to renew?
How to Feel Better When You Don’t Know What’s Wronghttps://www.raptitude.com/2020/06/how-to-feel-better-when-you-dont-know-whats-wrong/Cabinet door list as a tool
2. Opening and Closing WordsOpeningMark Nepo, poetExcerpt from Always Building and MendingThe birds pausing from their tasks became silent teachers,saying without saying that we need to fall in love with the ordinary rhythms of life,again and again.And when the tasks are done or have become too heavy to complete, we need topause and perch atop our worries and concerns.So we can return to the world and do what needs to be done, until what sustainsus reveals itself like the inside of a seed cracked by our beak…
ClosingWhen shadows loom in your days and in your heartDo not despairWhat has been defiled may be restoredWhat has been made profane may be reconsecratedWhat has been broken down may once again be raised upThe sacred connection can be obscured,but never dissolvedGo in peaceGo in loveGo with the faith that wholenessis ever within reach.
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