Piloting Faith: Deciding what to be on Halloween...
A Word for the Day...
It Halloween, and we are still trying to decide what we are going to “be” in our household this year. People take Halloween very seriously in our neighborhood. We have been shocked by the number of people who come to “trick or treat” and shocked even more that many of them are adults!
So the pressure is on. What are we going to be?
Being me is scary enough. But this is the one night of the year when it is socially acceptable – even expected – that we will pretend to be someone other than ourselves. We can live our fantasies of being a vampire (which, for the record, has never been one of mine) or being an astronaut (which is TOTALLY one of mine). We can be anything.
But instead of approaching this with excitement, I find myself paralyzed. I can be ANYTHING I want to be, but I can’t be everything. I have to make a choice.
Have you ever walked into a grocery store and been so overwhelmed by all of your options that you simply walk out without buying anything? Scientists have identified this as a new social disorder of our age. We are literally overwhelmed with choices. This paralyzes us and makes us unable to make any choice at all.
I wonder sometimes if that isn’t what happens in our spiritual lives. We have so many choices. We can be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Baha’i, Hindu…on and on. If you don’t want to commit, you can actually take pieces and parts of each – just the ones you like, of course – and make your own religion. It is the ultimate in “customer choice.”
I am a fan of trying some on and then choosing a tradition that makes you more loving and more awake to your own beautiful life. For me, that has been a Christian path. Sometimes I feel like I am just trying it on for a night. It rubs me the wrong way or makes me itch. But I keep putting it on. My prayer is that after a while, it starts to feel like my own skin, transforming me into the person God dreams me to be.
Great. I think I just talked myself into dressing as...me.
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight
Blessing for the Week
Blessed are you who can question your own assumptions and listen with an open mind; you will receive new insights beyond your imagining.
Blessed are you who suffer the attacks of others to stand up for what is right; you will not be alone, for your courage will inspire others to rise.
Blessed are you who build friendships as well as justice; even when you lose an issue, you will have strengthened the foundation of your community.
Blessed are you who take delight in people; you will not be bored in meetings.
Blessed are you who agitate the placid waters of complacency; you will create waves in the inertia of privilege, and will know the thrill of riding the surf of change.
Blessed are you who lead with enthusiasm and confidence, resisting the temptation to shame the apathetic or self-absorbed; you will inspire curiosity and hope in others.
Blessed are you who play as well as work; you will have more fun, build more energy, and will draw the powers of the impish to your cause.
Blessed are you who ask for help in your role as leaders; you will find teachers at every turn, and your work will remain interesting and alive.
Blessed are you who, when wrongfully attacked, find safe outlets for your righteous rage; your mind will be clear, your decisions strategic, and your progress will not be derailed by the backlash of the fearful.
Blessed are you who do not demonize your opponents; your eyes and your hearts will be open.
Blessed are you who sing and dance; you will find energy and joy to lift you on your journey.
Blessed are you who offer thanks and praise five-fold for every critique; your children will want to visit after they are grown, people will want to serve on your committees, and friends will be interested in your opinions.
Blessed are you who study the rhythms of history; you will have knowledge with which to shape the future.
Blessed are you who work in coalition rather than in principled isolation; you will meet great people, learn things you didn't realize you needed to know, and have partners for the journey when you are in the lead, or in need.
Blessed are you who volunteer to be secretary and take good minutes; your words will become history, and your efforts will move steadily forward rather than running absent-mindedly over thoroughly discussed ground.
Blessed are you who discover, train and encourage young leaders; you will see your work expand and grow beyond your own time and talent.
Blessed are you who can change your mind; you are still alive.
Blessed are you who will not let the perfect be the enemy of the good; you will see progress in your lifetime.
Blessed are you with an active spiritual life; you will find perspective and comfort in times of loss and betrayal, and will rise without cynicism to meet the challenges of a new day.
Blessed are you who live from a place of gratitude; for you will know the meaning of Life.
- By Lindi Ramsden