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Fall weather always makes me feel renewed. The crispness in the air that starts in the mornings and evenings and slowly expands towards the center of day revitalizes something in my spirit that hibernates during our Southern Summers. I think it’s no accident that this feeling of renewal arises for me during a time of year when the abundance of life is receding in its seasonal journey – not diminishing so much as…exhaling. Resting. There is wisdom in the seasons to guide us.
When I was studying Christian Scriptures at seminary, I always found Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 to be so satisfying to my “spirally” trains of thought: “round and round goes the wind, / and on its circuits the wind returns.” it speaks to the ceaseless movement of life, its rhythms and patterns and cycles, sometimes in ways that feel too personal: “All things[a] are wearisome, / more than one can express…” And so, what is the point of all this “toil” and effort, if there really is to be “nothing new under the sun?” How do we motivate ourselves to action, or conversely, justify a moment of peace in a hurting world when “What has been is what will be”? The seduction of doing things because they make us feel accomplished, even for a moment, is fiercely strong sometimes. And yet rest is in the works as well. Even a pendulum pauses for a moment at each apex of its arc.
How have you invited deep rest or stillness into your life? Because we cannot grow without it. We cannot transform ourselves or our world, invite healing, cultivate just-ness, or connect deeply with each other without it: Choose – Act – Reflect – Repeat. The “Reflect" part happens in the stillness, even if we must sometimes hew out a few moments of it at a time. It counts. It matters. You matter. May you find renewal in your spirit’s own seasons and may your moments of stillness empower and restore you.
Hope to see you when I’m back in town for the October 19 and 26th services, and in the week between! In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you’d like to schedule a phone call or zoom.
With spirals in abundance,
Samara
Samara Powers (they/none)
Unitarian Universalist Minister
"Justice is what love looks like in public." Dr. Cornel West
*Generally, if someone indicates “none” here it means to use a name instead of a pronoun for that person. For example, “Fenwick wants you to refer to Fenwick by name instead of using any pronouns when speaking about Fenwick.” If someone indicates more than one type of pronouns choice here, usually that means either way is suitable/welcomed.
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