December’s theme of presence not only invites us to be with the joy and wonder of the season, as we gather with loved ones, tour the local lights, or play in the snow, it also asks that we consider the more difficult, uncomfortable emotions that arise. When we practice presence with grief, frustration, and anger, we gain a bit more autonomy around how we will respond to those emotions and express ourselves.
Navigating the holiday season can be challenging for a wide variety of reasons. Whatever feelings are bubbling up for you, whether you find yourself experiencing a sense of loneliness this season or wishing you had more time to yourself in the busy moments, I hope that UUFM serves as a place of peace, stillness, support, inspiration, and love in your life.
I wrote this poem last week, as I reflect on the journey of digesting grief and difficulty and how I am guided by what challenges me. Sometimes, these moments point us toward action or connection. Other times, they remind us that we need rest or time for ourselves. However you are being guided, I hope that you find a sense of trust, surrender, acceptance, and the ability to grant yourself what you need.
I am still learning
to carry the vibrant thread of hope
and the dark stone of sorrow
acknowledging that one is the fire
and the other, the ground beneath it.
Not everyone will understand this.
But still, I go.
I traverse the tangled paths,
where grief and love are endlessly knotted,
and healing hums softly in the air,
just waiting to be sensed.
It’s said that grief is love
with no home – but love,
I have seen, always finds a place.
When it overflows and the world seems too cold to receive it,
turn inward. Let it fill
the quiet corners of your own heart,
until the light within you shines radiantly again.
Feel everything –
the ache of memory,
the fever of rage,
the pulse of a gift you once held
and lost. Allow yourself to be fueled
by it and let it engulf what cannot stay.
Heartache softens us, and perhaps,
we must become malleable enough
for metamorphosis.
And so, I ask –
how will you flow
like water over stone?
Like wind reshaping the sky?
How will you let yourself take on new forms?
For this,
I believe,
is how we turn into
something new,
something true.
December Activities:
Intergenerational Hiking at Rasmussen Woods, Saturday, December 14th, 10am
https://uufm.breezechms.com/form/2cf88a23845
UUFM Cookie Exchange, December 18th, 6:30-8pm
https://uufm.breezechms.com/form/c5d68e
To come in the new year:
Social Justice Book Study: Let This Radicalize You, January 8th, 2024, 6:30-8pm
https://uufm.breezechms.com/form/404199