 Something for the Journey
Julica Hermann de la Fuente,
UUMA Lifelong Learning Manager
Staying Flexible
I’m writing this weekly note for you from Mexico where I came to celebrate my mother’s accomplishments as owner and leader in the daycare community for 40 years and counting. She has served 10,000 children and their families! For the celebration, she and her staff hosted a concert that showcased teenagers and young adults, once her students, and also about fifty 3-5 year olds who sang, danced, drummed and experienced the stage and a real live chamber orchestra backing them up for the first time. (I swear I witnessed at least three musical callings heard and answered!)
It was a powerful lesson in joy and flexibility. It never ceases to amaze me how my mom and her staff can wrangle the irrepressible energy of very small people, who have not yet been informed that they need to play small and stay under the radar. That energy cannot be controlled, it can only be harnessed in the moment, and guided where it will most easily go next. It is a joy and a marvel to witness, and I am returning to my UUMA desk with renewed commitment to make a better world for these smalls. I also return to my desk reminded that I need to stay flexible, to keep working with what is, rather than what I had planned or imagined. It’s good to experiment and try things, and it’s also good to shift when something is not quite yet right.
One such shift I am making that involves you, dear colleagues, is that I am shifting what is now a weekly learning offering, our Learning Together space, to a monthly experience. I am so grateful for the folks who have been able to join and co-create learning environments; I am finding it is not sustainable with my other work responsibilities, given the smaller attendance numbers. I’m sure you know how it is. We try things, and then we try other things, until we find the right balance of time and energy.
Since the inauguration of the new presidency here in the US, I have been experiencing a much higher level of uncertainty and stress, and I know I am not alone. After my infusion of joy and creativity this past weekend, I return recommitted to our ministries of liberation, transformation and hope, for our children and for the children of our children.
Queridisima Diosa, be with us in this time of dismantling empire and confusion. Make yourself known to us in small daily miracles. Make our ministries easier, dear Goddess, that we may do your good work in the world. Help us stay flexible, and shift as needed, and look for joy and new growth in this, your season of renewal. Bendita Seas, amen.
P.S. Institute is next January and we want to hear what you think! This week’s question: What is the ideal time to begin our day with worship? Are you an early bird or a night owl? Please vote here.
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