#seven principles

Kwanzaa is a wonderful holiday that celebrates African American culture and traditions. This holiday, which lasts from December 26th to January 1st, is a time for families to come together and reflect on their heritage. Creating a scrapbook is a great way to commemorate this special time and capture memories that can be treasured for years to come. In this blog post, we will explore some Kwanzaa…

Alright, folks, buckle up for a ride into the coolest holiday you might not know enough about – Kwanzaa! It’s like the hidden gem of celebrations, packed with tradition, unity, and some serious good vibes. So, let’s spill the beans on what makes Kwanzaa so awesome. Kwanzaa Origins and Why It’s a Big Deal: Kwanzaa is like the ’60s baby of Dr. Maulana Karenga. Born in ’66, it’s got its roots in…

It’s my pleasure to share another guest post!  I enjoy having different voices here, and your voice is welcome!  The following post is from Julia, who lives her values at her  job.  Thank you for making the world a better place and sharing with us Julia! ————————————————————————————————

I have the best job in the world.  I am an occupational therapist, and I get to help people all day, every day, be their best selves.  I work with people who have experienced a life changing event, such as a stroke or spinal cord injury, or a life altering diagnosis, like Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis, and help them learn to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible.  It is through my career that I have the opportunity to live out the first UU principle: “covenant and affirm to promote the inherent worth and dignity of each person.”  If I had chosen another career, I would never have gotten the chance to meet so many people, so different from me, but whose inner light shines just as brightly as mine.  Often, even the face of mind-boggling adversity, my clients express gratitude for my help, work doggedly to learn a new task, or find humor in an otherwise daunting situation.  Their inherent worth and dignity shines clearly through and I am blessed to be in their presence.  It is the best job in the world.

Except when it isn't.  People can be mean.  People can reject my help.  People can be smelly and dirty.  Sometimes, it's hard to see their inner light shining through.  In theory, I know that every client I meet has inherent worth and dignity, but recognizing it, and truly acknowledging it can be a challenge.  How do I help someone learn to use their hand again, when I know they will return to selling drugs when they do?  How do I react when a patient makes a comment like “you know all those black nurses are lazy”?  Some days, it is damn hard to believe that every single person has inherent worth and dignity.

And life is a lot like that, isn't it?  It's easy to be in the world when people are nice to us.  People can be amazing and beautiful.  Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the goodness of people in the world.  But the real challenge is to be able to look beyond the meanness, the disrespect and the smelliness and find the worth and dignity even in those folks.  This is certainly something I still struggle with a lot, but here are two “tricks” I use to help me dig a little deeper.

-I picture the difficult person with someone they love, or someone who loves them.  It's a little  easier to recognize someone's inherent worth when you can picture them being unconditionally loved by their Mama.  There was a woman with whom I had a very difficulty relationship with, so sometimes I would picture her embracing her two children whom she loved very much.  This helped me to see her as a person of worth, not just my adversary.

-I try to figure out what that difficult person has to teach me.  Often in our lives, the folks who are toughest to deal with are the ones who can teach us the most about ourselves, as long as we are open to the lesson.  Instead of focusing on their negative qualities or how they are driving us crazy, we can appreciate how they are helping us learn about ourselves.

To tie this together, I'd like to conclude with a quick story from a day at the hospital.  One day, I was assigned to do an OT evaluation with a man who was quite ill from the many medical complications which accompany chronic alcoholism.  He was unclean, unkempt and had long fingernails.  Every medical professional who had seen him in the past 4 days had documented about his belligerence, and his refusal to accept medical advice.  He had even (verbally) thrown a few doctors and therapists out of his room.  I had little hope that I would fare any better, and truly, his hospital room was the last place I wanted to be on a Saturday morning.  Something made me pause when I entered his room.  I tried to imagine that somewhere out there, his brother or daughter loved him.  I knew that he was teaching me that I make too many judgments when I see diagnoses like 'alcoholism'.  I sat quietly beside him and smiled at him.  I helped him eat his breakfast because his hands were too shaky to feed himself.  I rubbed his neck because he couldn't sit up straight, and his neck was bent to the side.  He didn't yell or berate me, or kick me out of his room.  He thanked me and wished me a good day.  Did I “do OT” with him?  Eh...maybe.  Did I treat a man who was dirty and grumpy, and alone and scared, like he had the same inherent worth and dignity as everyone else I encountered that morning?  I hope so.

Naming the Principles @sfrederickgray @uua @uuworld @DRUUMMJTW @UUAGA

Seven Principles Wheel (c) Kimberly Debus and Ian Riddell Where Are UUs? As I look at the news this week of more unmarked graves found at former “Indian Schools” in Canada, and as I hear the news of the inquiry now expanding to the United States, it feels like Unitarian Universalism has come up woefully short in how we hold our own historic role in the oppression of Native and Indigenous people. …

These Are The Most Dangerous Hiking Mistakes, According To Experts

Overall, hiking is a relatively safe recreational activity – but when it goes wrong, the consequences can be severe.

Hiking is one of the greatest pastimes of the Great Outdoors and with so many magnificent views to be seen, there’s no question why. Some trails are far more difficult than others, while some offer maximum payoff with very little effort. Elevation, distance, and endurance all are…