After a rainy week, I want to share this Mary Oliver poem, “Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me.” Perhaps as the rain eases, you will feel like the rain, “happy again/in a new way/on earth” on this long journey of life.
Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,
smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.
Then it was over.
The sky cleared.
I was standing
under a tree.
The tree was a tree
with happy leaves,
and I was myself,
and there were stars in the sky
that were also themselves
at the moment
at which moment
my right hand
was holding my left hand
which was holding the tree
which was filled with stars
and the soft rain –
imagine! imagine!
the long and wondrous journeys
still to be ours.
The rain, for me, has been an opportunity to hibernate and rest. I find myself curled up on the couch with a good book, under a blanket with the dog more often than usual. The rain is encouraging us to rest. My sermon this Sunday will speak of rest, sabbath practices, and even the need to hibernate occasionally to heal.
Many of you braved the weather for our Luminescence celebration last Friday to celebrate the light and energy we all share. Here is some of what I said that night:
“We light candles on this Friday evening to celebrate the spirit of life, our diversity of spirit, the power of reflection, a focus towards justice and good, and a renewal of our call towards action.
Often during the longer nights of winter, especially on a cold and rainy night like tonight, we may feel our spirits waning. It’s okay to hibernate, to rest in the dark. In periods of rest, our light rekindles, and our energy returns.
The days are getting longer; the light is slowly returning, bit by bit, to our hemisphere. Spring is coming. After a period of rest comes new life, new light, and a renewal of spirit after winter. After resting in the dark, we have the energy to return to the good work, to begin again, as the longer days call us to more, tospread our light far and wide into our world.”
Our February has been busy with a beautiful Black and White Concert, our Luminescence celebration, and a sermon and workshop from James Coomes and Dr. Paula Cole Jones. Pacific Unitarian filled my cup so much this month, and I hope your cup too. Despite the cold and rain, I hope the celebrations have helped you feel renewed. Through that renewal, may we have more energy and new light to do the work Dr. Paula Cole Jones and James Coomes passionately discussed. Let us work for a revival of Unitarian Universalism that strives for a multicultural, inclusive community free from racism and hate, a loving and inclusive community of communities.
Be well, beloveds,
Chloe
