Click HERE to view Rev. Stacy’s guided meditation during the service.
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
During this week’s Wednesday evening service, Rev. Stacy Macris Ros continued the series inspired by the Pema Chödrön book, “Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change,” by exploring our spiritual call to care for one another, especially in times of uncertainty and change.
Drawing on the compassion demonstrated after 9/11—from first responders and volunteer boat crews to the residents of Gander, Newfoundland—Rev. Stacy reminded us that helping others reflects our inherent goodness and our true nature as expressions of God.
Learning to live with life’s discomfort prepares us to offer solace and compassion to others. As we do our own inner healing, we become better able to support the healing and awakening of those around us. This commitment calls us to move beyond ego, fear, judgment and long-held opinions and open our hearts to everyone.
Chödrön describes this as inviting all sentient beings to be our guests—not only those we like or understand, but people of every background, appearance, language and point of view. It is like “holding a diversity party in our living room all day, every day, until the end of time.”
When we notice that we have closed our hearts to others, we can practice three steps: catch ourselves and honestly acknowledge what we are doing; reconnect with our heart; and restart with a renewed commitment to compassion. Healthy boundaries may still be necessary, but we can always pray for another’s well-being and ask, “How can I embody loving kindness and compassion?”
Our commitment to care for one another is rooted in the recognition that we are all part of and connected to one Spirit—one invisible energy of Life. As Emilie Cady taught, when we recognize ourselves as part of the One, the desires of the “little self” give way to a desire for the universal good. From this awareness, we can move beyond our differences, see the best in one another and care about another person’s welfare as deeply as our own—even when we do not fully understand or agree with them.
By consciously choosing to ease the pain of the world by actively caring for one another and becoming a presence of love, compassion and support, we learn to live beautifully amid uncertainty and change. And this is how, together, we help heal the world.
To see/download a full transcript of the message, click on the button at the bottom of the title header at the top of this page.