The othe
r day, I was having lunch with a friend. As we were getting ready to part ways, I confessed that my big project for that Monday afternoon was to go to Costco. I told her that the reason I went at 1 pm on a Monday was that Costco on a Saturday tests my ability to live out our first Unitarian Universalist Principle – that each person has inherent worth and dignity. There is just something about the throngs of people that try my patience, no matter how good of a deal that flat of paper towels is.
This conversation got me thinking about the other places where I struggle to live out our UU Principles. And so, here it is – my (somewhat serious) list of the top three places in which I find it hardest to live out our UU Principles:
- Costco (or any big box store) on a Saturday
- The Red Line on Washington DC’s Metro during rush hour
- Airport Security
As I thought about what these three places have in common, I realized that in each of those venues I start to think more about myself and less about other people. I focus on how everyone else is in my way, how everyone else is blocking the door that I need, or how everyone else is taking too darn long to put their shoes back on.
But Unitarian Universalism calls me to approach life differently. My UU faith calls me to begin from the premise that each person has worth and that we are all interconnected. And so I wonder: How might my experience of these difficult or stressful places change when I begin from our 7 Principles rather than my own self-interest?
This question has led me to a practice I’m going to try out this upcoming month. Our Christian siblings are about to enter the season of Advent, which consists of the 4 Sundays before Christmas, starting on November 29th. They use that time to prepare for the Incarnation or the birth of Jesus. For me, the divine is not incarnate in any one specific place or time. Instead, the divine is incarnate or made real when we live into a calling to something beyond ourselves.
For my own UU Advent, I will be preparing to manifest the divine by approaching places and activities that normally make me grumpy and selfish with the 7 Principles at the front of my mind. I hope to be able to report back about what I’ve learned in my January blog. If this sounds intriguing to you, I encourage you to give it a try! Choose a few places (or people or times) that you tend to act more from self-interest than from our highest values. From November 29th until December 25th, do your best to put our UU values at the front of your mind in those situations. Keep a journal or other record of what changes! I look forward to sharing my reflections with you in the New Year!
-Hannah