BEGIN (AGAIN)

| Anne C. Williamson | - Originally posted January 11, 2015

Confession: It's been a tough week. Of course, I know full well, relatively speaking, it hasn't really been that tough; my family has the necessities: food, water, heat, Frozen on DVD. But, regardless, I've been stumbling this week, trying and failing to push beyond circumstances and the wonky way my mind sometimes works.

I believe these weeks find me occasionally for a purpose: they bring me to my knees, remind me life is not about control but surrender... in the best possible way. My heart feels small so I must break it open with a prayer of "help." I stop managing it all well enough, long enough to see grace again... to really need grace again.  

Beginnings can look like this. They often do. And, not just in late January. All year long we find ourselves slid back into old patterns, thoughts, distractions that then propel us to choose, once again, to begin again.

For me, this is one of the main reasons I crave deep, thoughtful, spiritual community. It often gives me more grace than I give myself, while at the same time, holds me accountable to the kind of life I want to lead. It is kind faces with whom I share my story, and wise perspectives I never would have heard on my own. It's the space to practice, to begin something new or for the umpteenth time. It's time set apart to c/Connect. 

This is what WAYfinding is for me and for many of you. I am so glad, and I look forward to kicking off another round of groups - of blessed discussions, experiences, sharing - this week!

There is always room for more voices at the table. If you're curious, consider checking-out a group this week - or in the weeks to come. Simply fill out this form. Groups this round meet:

Mondays, 7:30 – 9:00p – Mom’s Group (Meridian-Kessler) (Org. Facilitator: Lindsay)
Wednesdays, 11:30a - 1:00p (Meridian-Kessler) (Org. Facilitator: Rick)
Wednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00p (Downtown) (Org. Facilitator: Stew)
Thursdays, 7:00 - 9:00p (Meridian Hills) (Org. Facilitator: Jess)

Author’s 2019 Note: It’s interesting that much of the above blog applies to my experience this past week too - except Frozen has been replaced with Moana… Disney, you’re just too good! And yet, and this is gratifying to notice, this week was also not as hard as that week years ago, and I don’t think it has much to do with circumstances. I see the ways in which I am approaching life and my own “wonky mind” differently now. For example, I am teaching myself to not try and “push beyond” circumstances and the way my mind works sometimes but rather relax into them, allow them to be what they are, and notice, release, move from there. It’s subtle, and it’s helping. I share this because, first, and this is important: yea! And, second, the journey to one’s own spirit, to our True Self, does help. Who knows if we ever “arrive.” Lately, I’m thinking that’s not the point anyway. But, it seems to me, that when I follow my curiosity and creativity, my capacity for love and empathy - toward self and others and the Earth - and thus my capacity for joy does grow. It is not a straight line up in one direction but it is a moving toward, maybe a moving in that mysteriously also brings me more out than ever before. How nice to get this reminder. So, I thought I’d share it with you too. May it be so.

WE'RE GOING TO DO SO TOGETHER

| ANNE WILLIAMSON | 

In the Kurt Vonnegut version of the biblical Genesis story, man politely asks God, "What is the purpose of all of this?" God's response is perhaps less than satisfactory; essentially, God replies, "You decide." God's response is not the part of the story I find most interesting, though. It's man's question, or rather according to this story, man's first assumption: that there is one purpose and it applies to everything.

Now, I like this idea. I like believing, underneath all the micro purposes, there exists one - one purpose that if comprehensively integrated would bring not universal peace but much, much more of it. I don't know this to be true, of course. And, I don't know what it is. I simply - or most days, incredibly not simply - have faith in it. 

What I do know to be true, though, is how necessary the presence, stories, ideas, questions of others has been on the journey to finding the one. Just when I think I've got it figured out, a new story shatters my confidence. Right when I feel solid in humanity's purpose, nature reminds me to think bigger, less anthropocentric. I know I've got a clear picture now until an unexpected question turns and blurs my lens just enough.

Is this frustrating? Sure. But, mostly, its grace. It's not up to me to determine the purpose of all of this. It's up to us. We need each other to find our purpose. Without a multitude of voices - strange and familiar - we become echoes who don't realize it. We settle into our perspective, and often, sometimes violently, force it on others.

This is one of the reasons we do what we do every week in WAYfinding. We create spaces where people with diverse ideas, beliefs, stories, gather to wonder aloud and honestly about "g/God" and how to live deeper and love better. Do we do this perfectly? No. Are we as diverse as we'd like to be? Absolutely not. But, it's our intention, our heart. Because we know we need each other. If there is a purpose to all of this; if "g/God," some sort of connective pulse to life exists, and we can know something about i/It; if we're going to live deeper and love better; we're not going to do so in silos, only hearing from voices like our own. We're going to do so together.   

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BEGINNINGS

| ANNE WILLIAMSON |

Confession: It's been a tough week. Of course, I know full well, relatively speaking, it hasn't really been that tough; my family has the necessities: food, water, heat, Frozen on DVD. But, regardless, I've been stumbling this week, trying and failing to push beyond circumstances and the wonky way my mind sometimes works.

I believe these weeks find me occasionally for a purpose: they bring me to my knees, remind me life is not about control but surrender... in the best possible way. My heart feels small so I must break it open with a prayer of "help." I stop managing it all well enough, long enough to see grace again... to really need grace again.  

Beginnings can look like this. They often do. And, not just in early January. All year long we find ourselves slid back into old patterns, thoughts, distractions that then propel us to choose, once again, to begin again.

For me, this is one of the main reasons I crave deep, thoughtful, spiritual community. It often gives me more grace than I give myself, while at the same time, holds me accountable to the kind of life I want to lead. It's kind faces with whom I share my story, and wise perspectives I never would have heard on my own. It's the space to practice, to begin something new or for the umpteenth time. It's time set apart to c/Connect. 

This is what WAYfinding is for me and for many of you. I am so glad, and I look forward to kicking off another round of groups - of blessed discussions, experiences, sharing - this week! You'll find our topics schedule below or here. 

We're welcoming many new faces this round, and there is always more room at the table. If you're curious, please consider signing-up or checking-out a group this week - or in the weeks to come. You may email me or fill out this form. Groups this round meet:

Tuesday evenings, 7:00p - 9:00p
Wednesday evenings, 7:00p - 9:00p
Wednesday evenings, 7:00p - 9:00p (Mom's Group)
Thursday lunches, 12:00p - 1:15p

Groups are hosted in rotating homes, but generally, they'll be held in the SoBro area.

HAVE I REALLY STOPPED TO LISTEN?

| ANNE WILLIAMSON |

On Sunday, WAYfinding folks and friends got together for a sensory nature walk through a local park. The kids involved received a scavenger hunt list - things to touch, hear, see and smell. One of these items was to hear a bird. As my daughter and I took off, we felt rough and smooth bark, saw light streaming through the trees, heard friends laughing, but no birds. I remember thinking to myself, "Well, this is too bad. It must be too cold for the birds this morning. None of the kids are going to be able to complete their list." 

We went on like this for maybe 25 minutes when a question appeared in my mind's eye, "Have you really stopped to listen?" I had not. So, I scooped my daughter up, used the universal sign for "shhh," and asked her to close her eyes with mommy. And, there they were: the beautiful trills and chirps of birds high in the trees. It was a graced moment - one all too quickly interrupted by my daughter tapping my face and saying "no sleepy" - but a moment full of grace all the same. I simply had not stopped to listen.   

Does this ring true for you too? How often do we think we're listening - to our friends, kids, partners, even God - when, in fact, we're not? Because we haven't truly stopped... the external movement and noise, and internal chatter. LISTEN, LEARN, LOVE...

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THIS KIND OF LIFE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN

| ANNE WILLIAMSON |

We invite people to all sorts of things all the time. Some of us find it easy; others hard. It seems to depend a lot on who and to what we’re inviting. For many of us, there is something particularly uncomfortable about an invitation to a religious or spiritual experience. It doesn’t even seem to matter whether we’re the inviter or invitee. Why is this? What is it about faith that makes us resist its particular brand of invitation?

For me, part of the answer lies in why, over the years, it has gotten easier for me to invite others into spiritual spaces and conversations: I finally understand to what I’m really inviting them. It’s not an invitation to “the truth,” to having God all figured out or faith or life. It’s an invitation to a way, a process, a lens – to see the world as chockfull of grace and meaning, and intentionally lean into it. I resist less these days because I have experienced that this kind of life doesn’t just happen. It’s not baked into our culture. It requires intention, and for me, for most I think, the space and the diverse voices and the kind accountability of community. 

This is why I created WAYfinding and why it’s (mostly) easy for me to invite people to it.

What about you? What do you think spiritual invitation is really about? What do you think others think it’s about? Do you generally resist it or welcome it? Why? LEARN, LISTEN, LOVE… and join us this week in WAYfinding as we explore these questions and others:

Tuesday, 12:00p - 1:15p
Wednesday, 7:00p - 9:00p
Wednesday, 7:00p - 9:00p (Mom's Group)
Email me for locations. All in Broad Ripple/SoBro area. 

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A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN FOR INDIANA

| ANNE WILLIAMSON |

My internet has been "acting up" today. I'd love to find a way to blame this on climate change, as it would serve as the perfect introduction to today's topic; but, alas, I'll have to be content to keep cursing AT&T. (And, look, I found a way to use it and publicly vent my frustration anyway!)

As it turns out, though, I'm "in luck," for according to the National Climate Assessment Report released on May 6, there are plenty of other, far worse problems to blame on climate change: extreme heat and humidity, decreased agricultural productivity, increased health risks due to reduced air and water quality, invasive species, flooding and damaging thunderstorms, and this is just the Midwest. Our climate is changing and not for the better.

This, of course, worries and saddens me. I think about my daughter, who will inherit a world she did not create. I think about the poor, who consume less stuff but disproportionately ingest more bad air, water, food, etc. Animals carry this burden too. And, I think about the Earth, the home we depend on and yet destroy.

Under the weight of these thoughts, I feel my spirit ache. I don't believe this is the way we're called to live and be. I believe we're called to better vision, greater consciousness: to see the connections and interdependence, and live accordingly. I believe we're called to love better.

Spend the next few minutes LEARNing and LISTENing to your own spirit, to the Spirit. What do you feel? Hear? What's stirring? Then, consider actively LOV(E)ing by adding your name to the below petition for Indiana to create a climate action plan.

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