From Judith Hogan, Director of Religious Education
“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” —Jill Bolte Taylor
A really solid first step toward healing is setting personal boundaries and engaging in self care.
It’s funny, in my daily adventures of doing “good work” in the time of COVID the one thing I hear repeatedly is just how many things are being accomplished in a single day, week, or month. It is not uncommon to hear tales from my colleagues about them having Zoom calls that end at 10:00 PM, or having forgotten to eat. I understand this, I’ve done this, and I can see how this might happen to others unintentionally. The call to do good things and make things happen is a strong one within the UU community, and particularly strong amongst the circle of religious educators I have come to know and love. The flip side of this same dedicated and driven coin is the reality that boundaries are being crossed in these COVID times and I’m not really sure anyone is paying attention to it or calling it what it is, personal time and boundaries are becoming a casualty of pandemic living. Work from home, home from home, parent from home, stay at home, the home life, work life, life life balance is off. There is a subtle thing that I have noticed about the unspoken world of blurred boundaries related to one’s personal time, we see it happening, but we do it even more. Since everything is being done online now, work, school, socializing, gaming, etc., the amount of time one spends on any one thing seems to blend right into the next activity, meeting, class, and chat. Well, I’d like to offer a suggestion, take some time off, don’t schedule that extra meeting because you can and you are already at home on your computer, just stop and schedule some of that time to heal – this month’s Soul Matters theme.
Colder weather is coming and we will all be indoors even more. Make some of that coming indoor time quality healing time. Read a few books, write a few books, paint a picture, build a room, anything that you have been putting off doing until, “some day.” Today is someday so take some time and find out what self care activity you can do to heal your mind, body and spirit. To that end, here is the Soul Matters list of “Connections” to send your brain, and spirit on a journey of exploration and adventure. Enjoy November, and heal.
Calendar Connections: November 2020 – Healing—Click on the name on each event for info or inspiration.
· Interfaith: All Saints Day (Christian) – Nov. 1 (more here) | All Souls Day – Nov. 2 (more here and here) | Samhain (Wiccan) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 1 [more] | Diwali: Festival of Lights (Hindu) – begins Nov. 14
· Unitarian Universalist: James Luther Adams birthday – Nov. 12 [more] | ● Francis David died in prison on Nov. 15 (1579) (more here)
· National Holidays & Cultural: Native American Heritage Month | Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead – Oct.31 – Nov. 2 | Carol Mosely Braun became the 1st African American woman elected to the US Senate – Nov. 3, 1992 | U.S. Elections – Nov. 3, 2020 | Birthday of Dorothy Day – Nov. 8 (1897) | Veterans Day – Nov. 11 | Remembrance Day (Canada) – Nov. 11 | U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional – Nov. 13, 1956 | Jamar Clark is shot by police in Minneapolis – Nov. 16, 2015 | Transgender Day of Remembrance – Nov. 20 [more] | Thanksgiving Day – Nov. 28 | Tamir Rice is shot by a police officer after carrying a toy gun in Ohio – Nov. 23 (2014) | Grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown, sparking protests in Ferguson and cities across the U.S. – Nov. 24 (2014) | Origin of Species published & Evolution Day – Nov. 24 | Black Panther Party founded – Late Nov (1966)
