Widening Circles

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world
I may not complete this last one
But I give myself to it.

I circle around God, the primordial tower.
I have been circling for thousands of years.
And still I don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song.

– from Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God. Written by Rainer Maria Rilke. Translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows

This past week, I enjoyed sharing poetry and thoughts on interdependence. In Sunday service, I suggested this theme as an alternative to independence day but clarified that I believe everyday is “interdependence day.” How glad I am that our Unitarian Universalist values help guide our paths, both personally and collectively. We all need one another so much, and of course, as Carl Sagan stated, “for small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love,” which is what we strive to place at the center of our lives and our faith tradition.

How might we stay committed to those values, to how the most caring, curious, reciprocal versions of ourselves move? How might we live our lives in widening circles? These are questions that I hold a deep prayer in my heart that we all find worthy of continually returning to – that we might find ways to return to care so deep and wide that we all sense into our inherent belonging.

This month, there are no significant multigenerational activities happening. However, Monday yoga, Food Not Bombs, and Sunday programming is continuing as usual, and Macey will be spending some time reorganizing and reorienting in preparation for this new church year.