Post Election Faith

"Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times." 

 - Martin Luther

This week is a very important one in our Country. Yes, I realize we will elect a new President this Tuesday...however, in my opinion, there is something so very much more 

important ahead.   

Wednesday.

Wednesday, the fabric of who we are, as individuals and as America, will be visible to each other and to the world. Who will you be if your candidate is not selected? Who will you be if your candidate is selected? Who will you be if either candidate fails to concede? What message will we share with each other and with the world? Hope? Destruction? The spirit of Democracy - or Democrazy?

My parents taught me that being a member of my family and carrying the family name meant something.  "Alexander," stood for integrity, honesty, a willingness to work hard, tenacity and a stubborn unwillingness to give up on what we perceive as correct. Within the name lived an understanding of faith - that things could get better - somehow. We didn't always know how, but "somehow" we knew that things always worked out.

Being an American stands for something too.  In fact, much of what I was taught about my family name could be applied to this shared and historic title.  

Integrity, which by definition means "wholeness," can only happen if we are willing to cross the partisan aisles, and our home streets, in order to join hands and work together.  

Honesty must include some sense of awareness that, in our fervor for supporting what we believe to be the truth, we may have hurt others we love. Wednesday may be a good day for an apology... not for what we have believed in, but for any unintentional pain we may have caused through our fear-inspired enthusiasm.  

Hard work lies ahead of us, no matter who our new President is.  So much has been revealed in this election.  Clearly, many of us are unhappy with the way things are in our UNITED STATES.  To remain united, we must reach out to one another and look for solutions.

We must be tenacious and unwilling to give up.  On each other. On ourselves. On our Country.

And above all else, Wednesday, we must step more deeply into FAITH than we ever have before.  It is our faith that allows us to know, beyond all that has occurred in this election season, that there is something far greater that lives within us and expresses through us.

How would you like to be treated if your candidate does not prevail? Treat others that way.  Be kind and compassionate. Commit to working, side-by-side, on the issues that face us all. 

We can ask no less of ourselves than we expect of our politicians. It is time to use all that we have learned, from all our sacred studies, to bring ourselves into alignment with the God/ Goddess/ Holy of our Hearts.  From there - wisdom will guide us, and grace will bless our lives.

Exhaustion as a Status Symbol

"The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, 
at the point of exhaustion, 
when nobody else is looking." 
-Mia Hamm

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Krista Tippet, when the words "Exhaustion as a Status Symbol" rang in my ears over and over again, like a church bell striking its way to noon o'clock. Exhaustion is weirdly satisfying to me - and that phrase made me wonder why.

I don't consider status to be something someone else gives me.  Instead, I think of it as something I've earned through hard work.  When I was young and on fire with ambition, my folks told me I could have anything I wanted, so long as I was willing to work hard for it. Taking that information to heart, I have worked hard most of my life.  Even when the phrase "work smarter, not harder" was popular,  I kept working hard- because, well, it's what I do. At the core of my being, I accepted and lived into the idea that hard work  - works!

In addition to status, hard work also leads to exhaustion much of the time.  In fact, exhaustion is the way we measure hard work.  When someone say "Ahriana is a hard worker, " the statement reflects the status I have come to claim over the years.  I take pride in my work.  However, as I get older, I can't help but ask myself a question;  "Do I really want to work this hard for the rest of my life?"  Clearly, the answer is no.

Much of what comes as a result of hard work, I have already created...a loving family to care for,  a job that I find purposeful and satisfying,  a cause I give time and energy to in order to affect the future,  a few hobbies that give me something new to learn.  These are cornerstones of my life - but I am finding that they are not the whole structure.

I am missing the feeling that comes when I am NOT working. Peace. Tenderness. Beauty. Ease of mind.  It seems to me that these are feelings that come to us when we allow space for them, rather than things we work hard to create.  I want and need more of these feelings in my life

My summer sabbatical has given me a bit of practice at "not working," but I am far from mastery!  Its easy for me to step back into work.  Work is "broken-in-shoe" comfortable for me.   I can wear it all day and well into the night! Not working is quite a challenge for me.  When my sabbatical  time ends (August 28th) and I return to my job, how will I create more balance in my life?  How will I do everything that needs doing, without measuring my success in levels of exhaustion?  Its a very important question.

How do you make space for the softer side of life?  What comes to you when you are not working? I'd love to know your thoughts and hear your suggestions for maintaining a life where work and "not work" is in balance.

Ripening

"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch 

of grapes as if it had nothing else in 

the universe to do." 

-Galileo Galilei

Its mid-July and I am sitting on my front porch once again, having returned from 17 days on the East Coast.  It's warm and breezy, and the wind-chimes provide the perfect tinkling to accompany the wildly-brushing-against-each-other-leaves that cover the trees on our street.  My yard is shady at this time of day and the garden is dancing with busy bees and butterflies gathering nectar from the flowers my Sweetheart has been cultivating for our viewing pleasure.  The whispery rush of the wind in the trees is one of my favorite things about this porch in the heat of summer.

As I sit here, I can't help but notice the season of ripening has begun.  The limey green shoots of spring have been replaced with the emerald richness that heralds maturity.  Every bush and branch is dressed in its completed summer regalia. And while the flowers I mentioned earlier continue to bloom, many have already been replaced by the crunchy brown pods that hold the seeds of potential for another year.

I've always found it questionable that our modern society expresses winter as the time of hustle and bustle, while summer is considered a time of vacation and rest.  Nature's example is exactly the opposite.  Nature releases its need to bring forth life and, instead, rests in the fall and winter, slumbering under a blanket of cool stillness.  It works diligently in the spring and summer to birth new life, and to nurture that life into plump abundance.  (The impact of our living in opposition to Nature is something worthy of discussion on another day.  For now, I am focused on the ripening.)

In general, when fruit ripens, it gets softer, sweeter and more colorful.  There is little that can be done to speed up this natural process.   It takes time.  The best fruit is harvested when the perfect conditions (sun, water, etc) combine with a lack of bad weather or predators that might snatch the fruit from the vine before it is fully ready.

If we were to walk in harmony with the earth, now would be our time of ripening too - a time to get softer, sweeter and more colorful.  In this season, we spend more time outside in the sun, gathering together for picnics, family visits and other activities.  We seem to laugh more and show a bit more of our lively selves to the world.

Like fruit, our ripening can be halted by predators that pray on our soft, sweet core. For that reason, its a good time to be selective about who we spend our time with and to surround ourselves with those who are healthy of mind, heart and body.  Its a good time to visit with friends who have a positive and optimistic perspective on the "bad weather" of life (which we are all subject to at one time or another).

For the next few weeks, I'll be ripening...sitting on my porch, or maybe in my kayak, basking in the sun, enjoying this season and the sweetness it brings.   I'll be sharing time with darling souls who bring meaningful stories and vibrancy into my life, and i'll be marveling at the varied hues of our shared existence.  I'll be softening - allowing the shields I've used to protect myself to fall away so that the delight of living freely and joyfully can come to the surface.

It takes time to ripen fully.  If I can simply give myself the gift of this time, the ripening I'll experience will lead to tasty pleasures and nourishment in the harvest season ahead.

How about you?  Are you ready to ripen?

Intimacy and Ultimacy

"There's nothing more intimate in life than simply being understood. And understanding someone else.” 

― Brad Meltzer, The Inner Circle

For the past five days. we have been visiting friends on the East Coast.  We have driven to the homes of Dear Ones, brought in our bags, cooked meals together, sat around in our PJ's, watched the birds and wildlife interact in their yards , told stories of our adventures, and laughed at each other's jokes.  We have had real, from-the-heart, conversations...the kind that happen when there is plenty of time to let things unfold. The only word that seems to describe the experience is "intimate."  These moments have been so remarkably real and so connecting.

We have been loved and made to feel "at home" and I have had little desire to be online, much happier to share the sacredness of each holy moment, person-to-person.  I feel so honored to have enjoyed a peek into their lives...to have wandered their neighborhoods, and to have shared in the beauty they are surrounded by each day.  In some cases, I have been able to point out the loveliness they have come to take for granted.  In other cases, they have pointed out things in my life that seemed beautiful to them and which I no longer notice. It has been such a rich and meaningful time.

It is said that people seek two things in life - "intimacy and ultimacy."  We want to feel connected, and we want to understand what life is really all about.  I've been thinking about both of these topics.
 
Tomorrow, we head up the mountain to a festival called Spiritfire. (Actually, it's more like a hill if you are from Colorado - but don't tell anyone around here because perception is reality and it's a mountain to the locals).  We will gather with nearly 200 people from arround the Country who come together to share all-night ceremony around a sacred fire.  We will dance from dark to dawn, drum and chant, and care for each other (which can mean offering water and food to those who need nourishment,  listening to each other as things unfold, or even giving a footrub where needed.)    It is work - sacred work - and it changes people.  And while it can be exhausting, it is also ecstatic.

For four nights, we will gather in this way, sharing our deep hearts, our vulnerable spirits, our silly, mischievous, playful souls - and, when we are done,  we will return to our homes, transformed.  My friend Julie would say "it's intimacy on steroids!"

When we work together all night, the facades melt away.  We are immersed in the luminous glow of a spiritual flame, and slowly, hour after hour, the movement releases the layers of social identity that keep us separate.  In time, we come to dance as one body, sing as one soul, pray as one spirit -  prompted by the rhythm of the community pulse. As the sun rises, we look into each other's eyes and remember the ultimate truth of life.  We are here for each other -  here to experience such a deep interconnectedness with all of life that we realize who we really are.  The Divine Expression.

It is intimacy that leads to ultimacy.  When we risk letting the pretenses between us fall and show our unprotected hearts to one another, we encounter what some call Agape .... or  Unconditional Love. There is nothing more intimate than that.

Continuing

"People aren't problems to solve.  It's not my job to fix anyone, but to love them.  The heart can stretch to hold things -- even the difficult things."   

- Kate Bartollata

You may remember that, a few months ago, I lost all my computer files and found myself asking "who am I if I am not all of that?"  Since that time, I have asked many similar questions: "Who am I if I am not all the things I own?"  "Who am I if I am not my titles...mother, minister, writer?"  Today I find myself asking "Who am I if I am not the Hero."

I have completed one month of my three month sabbatical.  May 27th to June 27th went quickly and involved the daily challenge of finding inner stillness.  Today is June 28th and I begin the second month sitting in a hotel room in Burlington, Vermont - a remarkably beautiful city that feels fresh and artsy. The sunsets are spectacular here! Stillness remains somewhat illusive, however... revealing itself - and then disappearing as suddenly as it came.

In questioning how it is that my stillness unravels, I recognize that I jump into "Hero mode" too quickly. Any problem that occurs around me has an impact so forceful that my entire being is moved into action.  It might be an issue a friend is having, something affecting one of my children, or even a global justice topic in the newspaper.  No matter what it is, I am becoming aware that when something concerning comes up, my mind begins to search for an answer, my muscles tense and prepare to "do" - and my entire nature shifts from still - to not still.  My immediate response is to look for a solution to the anxiety I feel.  If I can fix whatever the issue is - or take some type of action -  I feel better. I feel "worthy."  Worthy of what?  Hmmm...love...oxygen...I don't really know - but action resolves the anxiety and I feel empowered.

I'm realizing that I see it all (and I mean nearly everything) as mine to address.  Every problem requires my attention. I wonder how I got that idea.  "People are not  problems to solve."  People are independent Beings with their own free will  - and the problems that occur for them are their learning opportunities, not mine. A Native Elder once told me " the only sin is to steal another's lesson."  "Fixing" then, is the same as stealing. It benefits me by making me feel like a Hero - and can stop another from learning what is theirs to learn. 

The thing is, I like being the Hero who can make things better.  I like feeling powerful enough to leap tall buildings in a single bound in order to make the world a better place for those I love.  But people are not problems to solve.  People are independent beings with their own free will - and they are more capable than anyone else of fixing whatever is broken in their lives.  And. when they do - they are the ones who feel empowered - which is how it should be.

Each person we encounter is a gift in our lives.  Each one provides us with an opportunity to give and receive love.   That is what we are here to do.  And when we give and receive love, that LOVE has a way of making things better. Loving is the most heroic thing we can do.

Pilgrimage

"Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, but it is very rare because most people are strategists." 

- Anita Brookner 

A dear friend is walking the Camino de Santiago this summer.  If I am remembering correctly, it is a 500-mile journey across parts of Spain and France. Since we  are both on sabbatical, I can't help but ponder her pilgrimage, and my own contrasting need for stillness.

Naturally, each of us will seek the Holy in our own way and, no matter how interesting and adventurous another's life may seem, one's transformation cannot be experienced on any path but our own.   I can't even begin to speculate the details of my friend's unfolding.  I can only say how much I admire her will and determination to keep moving her feet, placing one in front of the other, till she reaches her goal.  I find myself wondering if, in certain moments, she must tell herself "I can" when she feels like she can't.

My "I can" is different.  I've been asking myself questions like, "can I be still and quiet" and "can I put down the phone, leave the computer, ignore the books and my addiction to filling myself with more information ....and do no thing?"  To say I am challenged by this is an understatement that I am pretty sure will only truly be understood by some of my "Type A" colleagues.

Each day I spend an hour or more sitting on my front porch - which is shady and beautiful...and a great place from which to watch the world go by.  My body is slowing down, as a result, and I am feeling more relaxed.  Yet, it is my observation that, within minutes of sinking into my anti-gravity deck chair, my mind begins to whirl away, chattering incessantly about all the things I could be doing, or will do, when my sabbatical is over.  Again and again, I catch myself planning ahead instead of being in the now.

Why is it that being feels like such a waste of time?  When did I decide that my worth is proportionate to my doing?

In my wise-heart, I am so deeply aware that my greatest insights are almost effortlessly revealed when I am still and centered. Hidden under self-imposed layers of  mortal-world identity as wife, mother, minister, daughter, sister, and make-the-world-a-better-place-heroine-of-my-own-story,... is my interconnected soul, and the key to this journey.

In Unity, we call it the "I AM"  Presence.  My mother would call it "the spark of God inside every person."  No matter the name, it is a state of being the Divine Being we are born to express.  If I simply "am," - then  all the labels that I use to prove my worth and value in this world fall away and the sacred blossoms forth.  When that happens, there is nothing but now - and now is full of gratitude and joy.

It is the authentic soul-self I am seeking.  The journey to "I AM" is the pilgrimage...   I wonder how many steps there are between here and now....

Softening...

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. " -William Morris

I have been thinking about blogging for several weeks and have waited to begin because I am on sabbatical for the summer and in the process of unplugging from my day-to-day responsibilities in order to make time for rest and rejuvenation.  I was afraid I would simply turn this into another task that must be done.  I am a "doer" as a rule - and "being" has not come easily in the past.

Still, I want to record this experience somehow...to remember what I am learning - and to capture my feelings about the learning process.  So, beginning today, I will blog as I feel called.  And, if I do not feel called - I simply won't blog.  No pressure, right?!!!

I have been away from Unity Spiritual Center for a little more than two weeks now.  In that time, I have done very little "relaxing."  I studied for a test, traveled to Kansas to take it, and came back with three small assignments that the testing committee felt I should complete in order to receive their recommendation.   I've already completed two of the three assignments  - and hope to have the final assignment done in the next week.  I'm anxious to be finished with all of that and to step more deeply into this sabbatical.

Despite the fact that I have had things to do, I am noticing a significant change in my physical state of well-being.  The "candle-burning-at-both-ends" pace of my work-life as a minister causes me to ignore the aches and pains of a body that too frequently sits more than it moves.  I am often deep in thought and distracted when holding conversations with those I love.  Time goes so quickly and there is always something else requiring my attention.

Thankfully, in the past few days, I have noticed that I am smiling more.  The tightness in my body is releasing.   I am walking with more comfort in my step, and I feel a renewed appreciation for life.  I have begun to really feel my soul inside my body for the first time in a long time - and have spent several hours sitting on my front porch just enjoying the fragrance of the flowers blooming in the yard, the warming rays of sunlight, and the kiss of the summer's breeze.  Slowly...slowly...I am coming to myself.

The time I have been able to spend with my family is a treasure that I have no words to describe.  I am able to be attentive and more tuned in...hearing them more fully.  And, to my delight, hubby's kisses are warmer, and the hugs from my boys are lasting longer, as a result of my giving them more of my attention. Yesterday I snuggled the purr-baby for about an hour - and every day has included the devoted affection and sweet bounciness of four gentle-eyed pups who are each so unique and different.  Beauty surrounds me.

I am softening.  All is well.

In Good Faith

 "A lot of littles make a much." -Rev. Dr. Dale Turner 

The column started out as my "little."  I wasn't sure how long the paper would run it.  I wasn't sure their readers would read it.  I wasn't sure the clergy would care enough to take on the extra work of writing it...  but "it" was my little effort to bring the faith community together - and to work toward peace in my little corner of the world.

In Good Faith ran its first column in the Colorado Springs Independent on May 1st, 2013. Since then, the column has run almost every week for three years.  While our panel of spiritual educators, clergy and scholars has expanded a bit over time, the purpose has remained the same.  Our mission is:  

To model authentic, respectful interfaith dialogue, to educate the public about various religious beliefs and practices,  to provide useful advice about common life situations, and to inspire people of different religions to converse and collaborate with one another.

In February of 2016, we expanded beyond print and created a radio show of the same name.  In Good Faith:  Dialogue at the Crossroads of Religions was born.  The same panel went from writing 125 words each for the newspaper column,  to a full-fledged 1 hour conversation that gave all of us the chance to really explore a variety of topics ranging from why sacred text is sacred, to how to handle addictions, to what to do to keep from participating in political rhetoric.

As we move into the summer of 2016, plans for the future include distribution of the radio show through public radio exchange (PRX), a local symposium, and the addition of weekly guests who are notable members of the community.  And, its time for us to find a collaborative project we can support.

All of this is the end result of hour upon hour of donated time by our dedicated panel:

Jim Daly, Focus on the Family
Ben Broadbent - First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
Nori Rost - All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Interfaith Alliance
Steven Todd - King's University
Eric Sandras - Sanctuary Church
Jeff Scholes - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
David Gardiner - Colorado College
Ahriana Platten - Unity Spiritual Center in the Rockies, Parliament of the World's Religions
Stevie Bassett - Producer

Thanks to the Colorado Springs Independent, its Founder, John Weiss, and Publisher, Carrie Simison, for believing In Good Faith is worthy of dedicated and prominent space in this outstanding newsweekly - and to KCMJ 93.9 FM for make community radio a reality in Colorado Springs.  We are so proud to be associated with both of these media outlets.