Soul

Posted on December 9, 2025 by admin

Soul is a Pixar film that came out in 2020, and likely missed a wider audience because
of the pandemic. I was finally able to view the movie recently. Soul explores the topic of death and afterlife, which it refers to as “the great beyond”, in a way that involves jazz, amazing animation and imagination. What does this have to do with hope?

Without giving too much of the plot away, the main character and jazz musician Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) experiences a sudden accident, where he is thrust into “the great beyond”, between life and death. Joe is given an assignment to be a mentor, guided by the characters in “the great beyond.” Joe walks with a young soul who has not yet found her “spark” or purpose, named “22”. Soul “22” has challenged many mentors trying to assist her in
finding her “spark”. What “22” really needed was to find hope. If a soul starts losing hope, they become “lost”, not able to find what excites them about life, as well as their
sense of purpose.

The scene that touches me the most is when Joe sees for himself the negative “voices” that “22” hears in her head. It’s hard to find hope when you are bombarded with messages that you are a failure. Joe had to reach “22” to remind her that her “spark” was all the good things she experienced in her adventures of exploring her purpose. Humans find hope when they connect with each other. We can’t feel our spark or find our purpose if we isolate. In helping another find theirs, Joe finds his spark and purpose too.

~Jen Garrison

Posted in Choosing Hope | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Road Trip

Posted on November 26, 2025 by admin

Recently Gary and I took a road trip through states we normally just fly over. We travelled through Alabama, Louisiana and Texas until we arrived in Tucson, Arizona. It took us 4 days to make the trip, so there were lots of hotels, restaurants and shops along the way. In some states or small towns, I noticed that “have a nice” day was replaced with “have a blessed” day. I began to wonder about that phrase. Oh I know, it’s that evangelical, “christian” substitution that sometimes ruffles feathers depending on personal belief systems, but what if we put all that aside for now, and instead ask yourself, what does it mean to have a blessed day? 

First, we need to think about the days we’ve had that we’d considered “blessed.” If that word still bothers you just substitute a synonym like: joyful, blissful, enjoyable or delightful. What a difference one little word makes! Naturally, we’re all going to have different ideas about what makes a day blissful. I know folx whose happy place is sitting in a boat fishing, drinking coffee in a local coffee shop, hiking along wooded trails, or creating art in communal studios. Our answers don’t need to be the same. It’s the happiness we feel when we reflect on those “good” days that’s important. 

Now hold on to all those warm, inspiring, even supernatural feelings because that’s what we’re looking for in this game. Imagine what would happen if we started wishing one another a joyful, delightful, supportive, beneficial, fill-in-the blank day? What if we just stopped worrying about what everyone believes or thinks and just wished them the beautiful day we ourselves want to have in those brief moments when our lives intersect with others on life’s big road trip?

~Lisa Kiel

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude | Tagged | 1 Comment

Nurturing Gratitude When Ill

Posted on November 21, 2025 by admin

I don’t typically find social media as a resource for spirituality, but a couple of posts from friends have helped see me through a very difficult week. I have been physically ill since
for several days, with one set of symptoms slamming into another. When I am faced with this, it often takes my mind on a tailspin (I also have bipolar 1 disorder), and I have to fight the downward spiral with gratitude.

This is a mighty task when my mood has already soured, and our nation’s leaders have decided that food insecurity is the crisis to not address. That combination has me angry and worried, as my health depends on being able to choose and purchase foods I can eat. My church community came to my aid just in time. That I can truly be grateful for. But getting my negative headspace to come around to the fact that I am not alone when I feel despair
becomes quite the undertaking mentally.

I can see, including on social media, the shared despair in comments and posts. Sometimes I have to take a break from it all to keep from being sucked into it. Then I see posts with poetry that reminds me of the beauty there still is to behold in this life. I have to hold onto that at a time like this. Otherwise I would just give up. As tempting as that can be, we have to hold
onto hope for each other. The world has seen ugliness and survived.

I hope we can continue to see the humanity in each other, and thrive.

~Jen Garrison

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude | Tagged | Leave a comment

Living More Boldly

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Bob Patrick

What if gratitude is not necessarily feeling good and approving about what has happened in our lives. If I am not careful, I find myself falling into a predictable litany of gratitudes for things that are largely the result of the privileged status I live in. I am grateful for the life I live, but much of the grounding of my life begins in circumstances way beyond my choosing. 

What if there is more to gratitude than being happy that things are going well for me. What if gratitude is choosing to open to what is unfolding. What if gratitude is choosing to see what comes from the unexpected, the good, the bad, the otherwise. What if gratitude is choosing to let go of my requirements of how things must go.  What if gratitude is allowing, simply, how life is unfolding to create new stepping stones to my path. And then, what if gratitude is not a feeling or a thought at all, but moving my foot to the next stone on the path. And then, what if gratitude is opening my eyes to the way this path I’m on leads, to what it reveals, to what it offers to me.

If I’m honest, that’s how it seems to be working out. When I reserve my gratitude for those events in life that I want, that I expect, that I require, what I’m left with is almost certainly dissatisfaction when those things don’t pan out. 

When I let go (often, at first because I can’t keep my tight grip on things forever), when I open up. When I breathe, oh my, when I breathe. When I allow things (also known as my life) to unfold, new things show up that I had not expected, or wanted, or required. And, they are not all bad. In fact, some of them are quite good. The things that at first seem bad can actually be bad, but often enough they are just so unexpected.  It takes me a minute to see beyond the surprise.

I don’t want to be misunderstood.  Every day, I am so very grateful for the immediately good things: good health, good friends, good food, good shelter, good reports from my children and their growing families, good reports from my aging parents. The list of good things for which I am grateful can seem endless. But, gratitude doesn’t stop there. Other things, other reports, other experiences arise, and they trouble and unsettle me. They also invite me to look into them for the hidden outcomes they hold. Life serves up the unexpected, and gratitude can help me receive gifts that I don’t yet see. 

Gratitude. It challenges me to live more boldly.

~Bob Patrick

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Giving Thanks for Community

Posted on November 14, 2025 by admin

By now, most everyone has been made aware of the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program) crisis being faced by more than 40 million Americans. My aim is
not to get into political debate, but to shed light on what this means for people like
myself who depend on SNAP benefits, and why community is now more important than
ever.

As a person with several disabilities, I rely on SNAP benefits to assure that I am able to provide nutritious foods of my choosing for the month. I have to also rely on my SSDI benefit for food (Social Security Disability) because my SNAP benefits do not provide enough for the entire month’s needs. Now that I am not going to receive my SNAP benefits for November 2025, and possibly beyond, I am incredibly grateful to be part of a spiritual community that understands what a crisis this truly is.

There have already been conversations and actions taken on the behalf of folks like me at my home congregation. I can say with confidence that I know I will get through this time, with help from my friends. I am doing okay right now, as I planned ahead by going to my local food
pantry last week to stock up. My only struggle with the co-op is that the food provided is
not always diabetes-friendly. However, if enough people in the community donate foods
that are healthier for folks like me, a lot of neighbors can be assisted with their nutrition
needs.

This is truly a social justice issue that many can contribute toward, even with just a few cans or boxes of shelf-stable foods. If you are in need of help, please reach out to those in your community. People want to assist their neighbors in need, when they know what the need is. Let’s get through this together!

~Jen Garrison

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude | Tagged | 1 Comment

Gavin

Posted on November 12, 2025 by admin

This past weekend, Bob and I were in North Carolina for Hannah and Blake’s baby shower. On Sunday morning, I went on a quick coffee run.

At the cafe, I gave my order and then went to the pickup side of the counter to wait with everyone else. We watched as orders were called and strangers got up, picked up their coffees and bagels and left. We noticed “Gavin” had not picked up his order although his name had been called a few times.  Someone went outside and called out for ‘Gavin’. Another person went into the back hall where the restrooms were and did another ‘Gavin’ call. 

After 4 attempts from the counter for ‘Gavin’ a woman seated a table said, “Gavin has gone.” Someone asked if she knew Gavin. She said no she did not but anyone leaving a custom coffee order on the counter after 5 notifications either had an emergency or got tired of waiting. Then a conversation ensued about what happened to Gavin.

He went to take a call and got called away for an emergency.
He had to finish walking the dog.
He forgot his wallet.
He saw a friend and went for breakfast..
He didn’t feel like waiting.
He realized he was at the wrong coffee shop.
His ride was about to leave him.
His partner went into active labor. 

As we all got our orders and walked away from the conversation, we wished each other well and sent some good thoughts to ‘Gavin’, hoping that this stranger, whose coffee was now gifted to another customer, had a good rest of the day, regardless of what called him away from his coffee run. I looked around and saw quite a varied group of ethnicities and lifestyles among us. I found myself a little grateful for the 15 minutes of peaceful conversation about nothing in particular – we all left with a little smile to start our day. 

The Blessing of Right Now (Based on the words of William Stafford)

The words of poet William Stafford:

“It could happen any time, 
Tornado, earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.
It could, you know. That’s why we wake
and look out — no guarantees in this life.
But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now…”
May this light we now kindle awaken us to the blessings of this day, 
this morning, this moment of now we share together.

~Lydia Patrick

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude | Tagged | 1 Comment

Nurturing Gratitude for Who We Are

Posted on November 6, 2025 by admin

The first time I really became conscious of my longing for more—more life, more love, more everything—I was in my twenties and walking to work in downtown San Francisco. Amid the sensory overload of rush-hour traffic, I felt this tug in my solar plexus and heard the words “I want—!” repeating over and over in my mind. I could never complete the sentence—what did I want exactly? I just knew I wanted something more, something different. It was uncomfortable and mysterious.

I can see now how this wanting-something-more has driven me to find my sense of purpose in life. I even notice where it brings delight: Oh, look at that pretty sparkling thing! Oh, look at these good people working and loving and trying so hard! But it has also made me too big a fan of “retail therapy” and too easily distracted by—SQUIRREL!

So mostly I’ve seen craving, as the Buddhists call it, as a problem. It takes me right out of the present moment, which is the only place life can really be lived. I’ve tried diminishing this hunger mostly by criticizing myself whenever I hear “I want—!” ringing in my head again.

Just this week, as I listen to Pema Chödrön’s book “How We Live Is How We Die,” I find a new teaching. Chödrön, an American Buddhist nun, says we all have one of these “propensities”—craving, pride, jealousy, ignorance (feeling withdrawn or out of touch), or aggression. But if we sit compassionately with these tendencies instead of pushing them away, our ego and fear will melt away. Then the energy that each characteristic bottles up will actually bring us wisdom. Craving loses its grasp on my gut and transforms into a deep interest in every detail of life, and the sense that we’re all connected.

Wait! Does this mean I can nurture gratitude for my craving?! It sure does! That longing for something more becomes an invitation to pay close attention to what is, and to see what it’s asking me and us to do.

Wow! It still takes energy and practice to transform wanting-something-more into engagement with life’s actual details. But I’m up for the journey! 

Let’s go together!

With Love at the center,

~Rev. Nancy

Posted in Nurturing Gratitude | Tagged | 2 Comments