Active Hope for Mighty Rough Times

I've been moved to a place of deep sadness watching and reading about current events. It has been good to cry and mourn over the chaos happening around our world. In fact, it has been necessary. To not honor pain is to avert our eyes from what simply is, creating a deadness and shallowness that feeds depression, anxiety and spiritual bankruptcy. "Being with" this pain can help us to emerge with open hearts that are capable of bearing the pain in the world without becoming numb to it. We learn, as Joanna Macy writes, that “a heart that breaks open can hold the whole universe.”

This Sunday we’ll look at the spiral of Macy’s "The Work That Reconnects" and participate in a couple of exercises that honor our pain and help us go forth. The spiral will be a tool to take home with us as we navigate these rough times.

We’ll also take time to notice the transition from summer to fall and consider how it informs us.