Blogs

Reflections of the ministers and senior staff.

Blogs

Reflections of the ministers and senior staff.
5 minutes reading time (931 words)

The Story of Now

The Story of Now

Early January is a time for new beginnings, which often involves looking back on the past year and setting goals for the new year. On this threshold of looking back and forward at the same time, there is an opportunity for reflection. The Story of Now. What led us to this moment, this Now? What gifts did we gather along the way?
What challenges did we face and how did we grow from them?
What is wanting to be created, now?

To explore these questions, here’s a simple reflection template to use for preparing to craft the Story of Now: 5 4 3 2 1
It is a way to explore your own story, to discover what you are paying attention to, and what you wish to create.

For your own spiritual journey, what are:

5 key moments that impacted who you are now?
These may crossroads, milestones, challenges or discoveries.

In my own life, one key moment was moving to Durham in 1989. I wondered what my life would have been like IF I had not made this choice. All the people I never would have met, experiences, highs and lows, all would have been somewhere else, the hypothetical road not taken. It fills me with a sense of deep appreciation for my past self in making the decision to move here to a town that has transformed in the past 30+ years.

4 core beliefs that define the way you see the world.
These may be fundamental values or pillars of your own faith.

In my own path, there are multiple core values which are intertwined in the tapestry of my own faith. One of the core values that informs my decisions is: Love. Love as caring for life, others, the Earth. Love as equity and justice. Love, not just a feeling but acts of compassion to serve something greater than myself. I am always wanting to learn more about how to awaken more love in the world.

3 people who have shaped your path.
This could be a teacher, mentor, friend, or parent. Yes, it can be hard to narrow this down, but for now, just three people, including the why and how.

How did they influence you, into becoming more of you? As noted in our opening words on Sunday:
“Who listened until you could hear yourself speak, until you trusted the voice that is your own?”

For me, one that comes to mind is a college professor and mentor, Dr. Ira Zepp. He was head of the religion department, a scholar on the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he helped me at a formative age in wrestling with issues around faith, religion and justice. He literally helped me to see the world in new ways.

2 Intentions for the new year.
What are two intentions you would like to activate in 2025?

This is not the half-hearted, “I’m going eat healthy,” that you give up on in three weeks.

Here’s a couple of ways to approach creating two intentions:
What gift would you like to share of yourself, in this community?
What quality of love would you like to embody more fully this year?

Quality of love can be interpreted in many ways. For my spiritual growth, one quality of love I would like to expand in 2025 is listening.
Listening as spiritual practice. Listen to life, listen to others, listen to all that is.
Listening as a quality of love.

This leads into the last step on the reflection template:

1 action step you will take this week to move forward and begin writing a new story.
A new story of you. Who would you like to be, in your own life, in this community, in the world?
One action step. This week. Toward your intention.

In September I engaged in a unique type of fasting to reset: Digital detox. No screens, at all (computer, phone, TV, etc.). While I did this for one week, I invite you to give it a go with 24 hours first, then repeat it monthly for a whole year. I discovered during the digital detox how much I appreciated the break from having to track so much input and information. Then when I returned to screens, I was ACUTELY aware of how much time and attention I did, or did not, give to screens and all the content they provide. It created interior space to listen more fully on all levels.

Whatever you choose as an action step, know that this is a strong way to empower an intention, to bring a goal to life by creating one small, repeatable habit that moves you forward toward writing a new story of NOW. As we look back at the past year and look forward to the new one, taking time for reflection and intention setting can shape our experience of the journey. Stories from our life journey reveal the common threads that we share with one another. The personal mirrors the collective. The collective validates the personal. The two together tell one story.

Stories are a language of connection and have the power to reveal our true nature. As we weave together the tales of who we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, our sense of separation fades and the web of our oneness is revealed. In the turning of the year, may we have the courage to know that there is a story of the world waiting to be written. The story of Now.

May it be so.

Daniel

×
Stay Informed

When you subscribe to the blog, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.

Fear, Now, and the Stories We Build
A Story for How We Begin, Again