Small Excitements

This week's quotation, by Friedrich Hölderlin, reads, "There is nothing so little or small, that you cannot get excited about it."

And I absolutely believe that. Small children know the secret, because they have not got the experience of life to be blasé or cynical about the world. The way that the frost turns the leaves all sparkly, the sound of a loved one's footsteps coming up the path, a visit to somewhere new... all these are sources of excitement for them. Everything, no matter how "little or small" has the potential to be greeted with cries and wriggles of excitement.

As we get older, we seem to become more world-weary. We've seen it all before... meh, whatever. And I think that is so sad. So I try to put myself into a small child's mindset, when something new happens, and appreciate it with all of me.

Yesterday was a good example. I started a new cross-stitch project. There are few things in life which give me so much quiet pleasure as unpacking a new kit - examining the glowing colours of the silks, having a good look at the chart, and being thrilled by the notion that over the next few weeks or months, these disparate elements - silks, material and needle, will be coming together to create something new and beautiful.

And then giving it away to the person I've stitched it for. Most of my stitching these days is for other people, in the shape of wedding and anniversary and birth samplers. It gives me great joy to create something original for the people I love.

Reading can be another source of small excitements. I've recently discovered The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey, and the books (eight of them) are beautifully written. Every few pages, I will come across a sentence, or a passage, which is so perfect, I want to share it with someone. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson have the same effect, as does J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The magic of well-written words, to transport the reader to a new world - this is a small excitement which will never pall.

What little thing makes you excited? Look around your life and see...

Only One Step

When I first read this week's quotation, from Seneca, I was discouraged. It reads: "What you take for the summit is only one step."

I thought, "Bother (or a less printable equivalent) - my work is never done. Why even try?"

But then I thought again, and saw it in a different way - that our journey through life is made up of only one step, followed by another and another... and then, somehow, we get to where we're going.

And then rest, re-evaluate and start the whole process over again! So the message I'd like to take from Seneca is that although we can only take one step at a time, each one is important, and each one moves us on in our lives. Sometimes, we may feel that it is "two steps forward, one step back", but hey! That is still progress.

And if we feel we have hit rock bottom, as happens to everyone at some point (for me it was the Summer of 2013, when I had my first and only alcoholic blackout and realised that if I didn't quit, the only way onward was down), then we can choose a different direction, and start to move on again.

For me, the "one step" was quitting drinking for good on 2nd September 2013.  I have not had an alcoholic drink since. Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve Step programmes  also recognise the importance of the "one step at a time" way of living. The important thing is being brave enough to make that one step, over and over again.

Each of us has an opportunity every day to make another step in the direction we're going. And can choose to make it - or not. But when we choose Life, the onward steps will always be for good.

Being True to Yourself

This week's quotation is by Bettina von Armin: "Find yourself, be true to yourself, learn to understand yourself, follow your voice, only then can you reach the highest."

One of the most useful tools for achieving this goal is the Enneagram. Or at least, that is what I believe. I and the other ministry students at Harris Manchester College Oxford were given a half-day workshop on the Enneagram during our training, and it changed my life.

I have blogged about this before,  and also here. But it is as true then, as it was when I wrote those posts, in 2011 and 2013.

I believe that it is only when we truly know ourselves and learn to love ourselves, flaws, warts and all, that we can be our best selves, and "reach the highest". And it is only when we are true to ourselves and are at peace with who we are, that we can reach out to others, knowing that they too are "unique, precious, children of God" (as the Quakers say).

Because every single person ever born has "that of God" in them, and is worthy of love and respect. So easy to write or say, so damned hard to do.

But at least it can be a gold standard, to which we can aspire. So that every time we meet a new person, we do not judge them by what we see on the surface, but take the trouble to get to know them properly. So that the divine spark in us can reach out to the divine spark in them. We are all human and imperfect, and all need the love and support of others to make our way in the world.

I love the words of Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe, which I used in a service recently: "We gather in faith in ourselves and those around us. Not a faith that requires perfection or rightness in one another. Rather a faith that in our shared imperfection we may learn to stumble and fall together. Faith that we will help one another to rise and to try again and again."

The Hero[ine]'s Journey

Some of you will know that I love to write. I've had three non-fiction books published, and my first novel has been accepted for publication.  I spend a lot of my spare time either writing, or reading and learning about how other people write.

My son is also a writer and we have a shared interest in fantasy as a genre. I adore reading fantasy, and would love to try my hand at writing one, one day. My son has recently introduced me to a series of lectures on You Tube by fantasy writer, Brandon Sanderson, and I'm finding them fascinating.

He has an entertaining lecture style and I've learned heaps from him, about worldbuilding and how to create a convincing magical system. Yesterday evening, I was watching his podcast about characterisation, and one of the things that came up was the hero's journey. This is a trope made famous by Joseph Campbell, and is a plot outline much loved by fantasy writers: Ordinary person is taken from his ordinary life by a wise mentor, goes on a great quest with some companions to achieve / find something, undergoing various ordeals and tests on the way, then comes back home, somewhat changed.

This week's quotation, by George Moore, really reminded me of this: "Man travels the world in search of what he lacks. And he returns home, to find it."

I believe that we don't actually need to undertake a physical journey, to be changed in this way. I think that the spiritual journey has much in common with this hero's journey. A person is dissatisfied with their everyday life, realising that something is lacking, and starts to explore new ways of being in the world. They meet a wise mentor (in my case, the Unitarian minister, Rev Hilton Birtles) read some wise books, talk with people a lot, and along the way, are changed. They then come home to themselves and the divine, and realise that the sacred was there in their lives all the time.

Standing up for a Cause

I found this week's quotation, by Mahatma Gandhi, interesting: "Strength does not grow from physical force (effort) - rather from indomitable will."

And I guess he was talking about the power of non-violent resistance. In the case of India, the indomitable will of Gandhi's people was pitched against the power and might of the British Empire. And yet, the Indian people prevailed.

Today, the Extinction Rebellion movement is using similar tactics, to save our world from being destroyed by human exploitation and greed. The current issue of our Unitarian journal, The Inquirer, Holland Morrell of Doncaster Unitarians shared her experience of joining the XR protests one day last month:

"Once I got past the police, it was actually incredibly peaceful. There was singing, chanting, speeches, friendships being forged, and hot food freely available. There was an atmosphere of quiet passion and reverence for the Earth. It felt similar to stepping into a place of worship - the same sense of inner stillness, awe, wisdom, peace, and fellowship."

The centre spread of the issue has the headline 'Unitarians on the front line', in which four more Unitarians shared their experience of joining the XR protests in London. Elizabeth Harley, a ministry student from Bridport, wrote:

"The reason we travelled [to London] is simple: the destructive effects of corporate greed on our planet is present tense. Displaced people are suffering right now, and it will get worse. We need to think and act globally with a green conscience, a kind heart. Until we are all safe, we all suffer. This is a religious imperative for me, I am joining in with what we have got - and that is the imperfect but growing and impressively resilient Extinction Rebellion."

If enough people have the indomitable will to prevail, change will come. We need to stand up and be counted.