|
Two Stories: Why We're UUs
Young adult Unitarian Universalists from around the region converged on UUCF two weekends ago for a Young Adult Conference, or Con. Many of the attendees joined us for worship that weekend. Two young women who had been attending the conference felt moved to share their understanding and practice of UUism with our congregation. Below are Jessie's and Kimber's expressions. Click here for these and other UU reflections. A Calling to Promote UUism
I think I might have been 16 when it dawned on me that I needed to be working to make the world a better place in order to feel happy. My junior year of high school, I read a novel called "Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver. More than anything, the following passage stuck with me.
"Here's what I've decided: The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness. Enough to eat, enough to go around. The possibility that kids might one day grow up to be neither the destroyers nor the destroyed. That's about it. Right now I'm living in that hope, running down its hallway and touching the walls on both sides."
One idea in the book is that it makes sense to embrace social justice work, not for altruistic reasons, but for selfish ones, such as salvation from purposelessness, cynicism and despair.
I still read that passage and feel the words ringing true in my head. But it's also been my experience that picking a house of hope isn't always easy, and the momentum to go running down the hallways can be hard to find too.
In college, I'd frame my search for a major and a career around that question: what do I hope for? I wanted "enough to eat, enough to go around." Did that mean I was morally obligated to major in economics or public policy so I'd actually understand how to achieve that goal?
In the end, I didn't care for college economics. Nor for the public policy class I took. At the same time, I was really enjoying writing articles for the school newspaper, taking journalism classes, and later interning as a reporter.
The work fed my need for a creative outlet. I became passionate about the ideals of journalism - as a newspaper reporter covering local stories, my work could promote community, citizenship and good governance. On the other hand, I knew that there was a price to be paid. When I chose to become a professional journalist, I gave up my right to public activism or political participation. I can't donate to a campaign, join a political party or write my congressperson when something is bothering me. I don't do yard signs or bumper stickers and I watch what I say on Facebook.
Arriving in a new town as a lifelong UU, and attending church alone as a professional adult, I was struck by just how often my minister's sermons touched on political or social justice issues. "Thou shalt be an activist for social justice" feels like the unwritten commandment of Unitarian Universalism. Something felt out of kilter for me and I wondered where I stood. Was I living inside the things I hoped for? Could being a good
journalist make me a bad UU?
An answer of sorts came as I gradually became more involved with my new church and more committed to the faith. I found my work on behalf of UUismm satisfying some of my gnawing desire to be doing more to make the world a better place.
Our society needs all types of people doing every type of good work. An investment in Unitarian Universalism is partially an investment down the road. When I work to promote this faith, I'm sharing a strand of DNA that is open to mutation, but grounded in the idea of the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Others will apply that idea in situations I've never even thought of, now and into the future. Therein lies the hope that one day the children might grow up to be neither the destroyers nor the destroyed.
- Jessie
Changing the World One Interaction at a Time
You know those people who never had to work for what they got? The ones who had life handed to them on a silver platter and never wanted for anything? Well, I am not one of those people. When I was 14, I got my first job. I have been working ever since, sometimes in excess of 60 hours per week, to keep up on my car insurance, phone bills, medical expenses, and food costs. I'm managing at McDonald's to put myself through school so I may, after an eternity of education, become a doctor. As you can guess, this doesn't leave much time or money to give to the causes I'd like to support. As a UU, that feels like a sin. I struggled to find a way to make a difference with my limited means.
It took a long time, but I think what I settled on is best summed up with a quote painted in my uncle's house: "Live in such a way that those who know you but do not know god will come to know god because they know you." What a thought! To let people see the divine in each of us. I realized that helping to change the world isn't always about how much money or time you put into it. It's about all those little moments, the ones that pass you by every day that you don't even think about. How many of us ask the bus driver, the grocery store clerk, the bank teller, "How are you?" and how many of us really care or even want to know? And how many pass a stranger on the street and give a quick obligatory smile before going back to pretending you don't see them? Our way of life allows us to speed by these mundane events without a second thought. But why should we? Why should we let any second of life pass us by, leaving us indifferent and unattached?
As UUs, we are uniquely positioned to learn from a great many teachers across countless different philosophies. Why not take advantage of what we know to brighten the world? To live as Jesus and love others unconditionally, friends, enemies and strangers alike? Or to walk the earth like Buddha, treating all beings with absolute kindness? The world is a dark place. But every time you smile genuinely at that passerby, or let somebody in front of you in line or really care about how somebody's day went, you poke holes that let the light shine through. You affect other people profoundly, creating a ripple effect that far extends our humble intentions. We can't fix all the world's problems by just being kind, but isn't it worth a shot? Smile. Help others. Change the world one step at a time. Let your love be a beacon of light in the dark every day, and perhaps one day we'll all wake up in a much brighter place.
| 
