Rev. Lori on Navigating Change
A version of this reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello Wonderful People,
Change is rarely gentle. Even when we know a new way is needed, something in us clings to what is familiar—old habits, old stories, old comforts.The path toward right relationship with one another, with the earth, and with our own deepest values asks courage not just once, but again and again. It asks us to keep choosing love when resentment would be easier, truth when silence would be safer, and responsibility when avoidance would be more comfortable.
Nowhere is this clearer than in our response to climate change. We know what is happening to our marshes, oceans, weather, and communities, and still it can be hard to change how we live, what we support, and what we are willing to challenge. Staying in right relationship with the earth means listening to what the planet is telling us, even when it disrupts our routines and expectations.It means choosing care over convenience, solidarity over denial, and long-term justice over short-term ease. That is true for being in community as well. We are changing at UUCSB. We are growing quickly. Which is beautiful and challenging. We must continue to live into choosing love every decision along the way.
Staying committed to right relationship means trusting that small, faithful steps matter. It means remembering that repair is sacred work, and that transformation rarely happens all at once. We walk this path imperfectly—but together, with humility and hope, we keep walking.
As promised (threatened) last week,I will be leaving you all with a question each week for contemplation to bring with you into your week.
How does change affect you?
I invite you to close your eyes for a moment and sit with that question. Consider if you turn inward with anxiety or turn outward and get fussy with others. How does change make you feel physically? Emotionally? Spiritually? How do you or can you lean into your UU principles and values when faced with change? Be gentle with yourself as you think about this and I encourage you to be honest as well. We are humans being humans after all and that is a beautiful thing!
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford