COMPASS ROSE: THE UU SAN MATEO BLOG

I had been looking forward to PAYING ATTENTION , our March congregational theme, with great anticipation. My ability to pay attention to whatever is happening in the present moment has always been a challenge, and I have been hoping this theme's learnings could help me improve. I expected our friends at the Soul Matters Sharing Circle would present some spiritual exercises that would help me improve my ability to pay attention, and – as usual – they have done so, some of whic

I knew this month's congregational theme started with the letter "e," but I kept calling it embracing resilience instead of embodying resilience. So I consulted my AI guru to see what the difference might be between the two: Embracing implies accepting, adopting, or holding something (like a belief or identity) closely, often at an internal or conceptual level. Embodying goes deeper, representing the tangible, lived expression of those values through actions, behaviors, a

PRACTICING RESISTANCE, our congregational theme for the month of January, is a challenging subject that has many aspects you can explore in this month's PRACTICING RESISTANCE ministry packet . In this time of political turmoil, however, I invite you to read about my own practicing-resistance journey, and also to explore what path your resistance practice has taken you so far, and where you might want to go with it in the future. January 20, 2017: Inauguration Day: Despite my

As I began to explore CHOOSING HOPE, our congregational theme for the month of December, I thought: this is going to be easy! Who doesn't want to choose hope? After all, no matter how dark things may become on any given day, "The sun will come out, tomorrow" (at least according to Little Orphan Annie). That sense of optimism provides relief from having to do anything; just wait for a while, and all be just fine! But once again, our friends at the Soul Matters Sharing Circle i

As I began to explore Nurturing Gratitude, our congregational theme for the month of November, I wondered about the pairing of those two words. "Gratitude is essential," says Rev. Scott Tayler, founder of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle. "We aren't built for constant striving and the pursuit of more. Instead, we need moments of pause in which we are filled and replenished by the large and small wonders of the world." Practicing gratitude passively may not be sufficient, howev

I thought it would be easy to create a reflection about Cultivating Compassion, our congregational theme for the month of October. After...

Our congregational theme for the month of September is BUILDING BELONGING . To speak of our theme as being simply belonging would miss...