Greetings from Innisfree (that’s the name of my farm).

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

We called this place Innisfree because I’ve always loved the poet WB Yeats. When I went to Ireland, about eight years ago, I had hoped to visit the real Lake Isle of Innisfree. There were other places in Ireland that I’d dreamed about and imagined, primarily from literature. One was the Blasket Islands off the west coast. I made it to Dingle during my month’s time there, and I saw them from the mainland, but there were no regular transports to the Islands as it was still late winter. Nor could I get to the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, another place I’d come to love through words. The weather forbade it.

I did take a trip to Sligo by bus before I rented a car, and I stayed at a quiet and lovely Catholic retreat center. While there I was given a ticket for a play that some of the residents went to. I tried taking public transportation to Innisfree the following day, but there were no cars or taxis or buses going that way. I soon learned that Innisfree was a small, uninhabited island and that Yeats had never actually lived there.

Life is filled with disappointments and disillusionment. Yet it is also replete with grace-filled moments and unexpected delights, unearned good fortune.

I believe that there are forces for good as well as for depravity. Although this time of separation, fear, and loss can be seen as a dreadful time, there have been and will be moments of joy, humor, and resplendence. We are the fortunate ones who have the luxury of enough: enough to eat, enough shelter, and enough resources to weather these weeks and months. We even have the honor of being able to consider others and extend our love and care.

Try not to make assumptions about how things will be in the future. Stay with the not-knowing, the “beginner’s mind,” the quiet wondering and waiting. This can be our forty days (likely more) of wandering in the proverbial desert. This can be a time we shall recall with fond delight.

We can acknowledge that we don’t know what’s next, even though that is always true, and we try to deny it with our busyness and our compulsive planning.

As Easter approaches, I invite you to look back upon your life experiences and try to recall something special about Easters past. (Or about Passover, if that was or is your tradition.) Please drop me a note, via email or text, and tell me what you recall. Even better, dig out a photo that reminds you of a particular Easter. As a child, my family celebrated Easter in a secular way, with baskets, candy, dipped eggs, and egg and candy hunts. My brother hated the smell of vinegar and of hard-cooked eggs and he hid in his room. He hated candy, too, and we all lobbied to get some of his. My father (I now know!) wrote a note from the “Easter Bunny” in a cryptic hand. I remember sort of knowing that it was he who wrote it but trying to convince myself otherwise. As I get old(er) these snippets of pleasure come back to me, and I cherish them.

My kids have come to expect a bunny-shaped coconut cake that I’ve been making for at least 30 years. We also use the hard-boiled eggs to make a breakfast or creamed eggs over toast (no recipe, just make a white sauce and mix in the sliced eggs and add some salt and pepper).

Maybe you can leave a surprise on the porch of someone who is housebound? Maybe you can send a note or a card? Reach back in time or reach out in space to create a world of kindness and compassion.

I never got to Innisfree and I really don’t care anymore. In fact, it was not even what I thought it might be. Let life surprise and delight you, even as it undoes your careful planning.

My love to you all,

Cynthia

Dear GNUUC folks,

Here’s the poem I shared on the video:

“This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”

― John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

 In a Zoom meeting with about 14 Nashville religious leaders and a few professors, I listened as clergy, Jewish, Baptist and Methodist, shared from the heart about how they find faith in the time of travail. I wasn’t surprised, because I’ve long done Interfaith work (that’s how I met Dan Rosemergy almost 20 years ago), that most did not have absolute certainty about where or what God is, nor did they have answers to the deep and pressing questions of humanity. One pastor spoke about how he saw God in evolution and that he had in trust in humanity continuing to evolve and learn. Another shared that he was growing tired of the platitudes and aphorisms he was seeing on social media touting literal faith, getting likes for God or expressing certainty that if everyone prays at a certain time, the pandemic will be gone.

Another spoke about history, and was reflecting upon times of war (he’d been a chaplain in two wars) and suggested that the Army teaches soldiers to care about their fellow service people as much as about themselves. A fourth mentioned that some of the most fear-based responses he saw were coming from Christians.

I decided not to speak today, but if I’d shared, I would have said that even theistic UUs tend not to worship Jesus or to claim a personal God. However, I’d have told them, we have faith in humanity; we believe there is at least as much potential for good as for evil, and that we trust in reason, tolerance and freedom. We’re not people of the Book but we are people of all the books.

I’ve been percolating on some meaningful ways we at GNUUC can get together outside Sunday mornings and Zoom meetings. If I were to offer a Zoom discussion on some short stories and maybe later a novel, would you like to join in? We’d be discussing these works as literature but also our response to them as UUs.

If you’re interested let me know via email cyncain@gnuuc.org or text at 859 221 3034.

For now these will be GNUUC members only.

I miss you all greatly and look forward to being with you again!

With Love,

Cynthia

Before you read further, a note: An e-mail went to some of the GNUUC leadership and membership that was not from either of my email addresses but was pretending to be me. I will NEVER e-mail you to ask for money or anything else. Please do NOT open any emails from me or anyone in the congregation that does not have a gnuuc.org address!

Felicitations!

I decided to use an old-fashioned greeting since in some ways, we feel time has stopped and even gone backwards. I remember my mother’s siblings telling me about how they made it through the Great Depression. They moved from Nashville to Philadelphia in 1929. All the extended family lived in one row house (the six surviving siblings… the oldest, Maura, had died by then) and the wives and children of those who had spouses. The ones who could get work supported the rest of the family. And sometimes, when they’d tell me about this, they would sound nostalgic.

It hit me yesterday when my daughter, who had a very good salary running the events and visitor center for a small batch distillery, was laid off. She has a relatively expensive apartment (which would be cheap in Nashville!), a car payment, student loans and other expenses. Of course, we told her that we’d help but that if it got worse, she could move here to the farm with us. She and most American young adults have been able to live without the fear or anxiety that were very real a few generations ago. Despite my persistent efforts, I haven’t been able to get my adult children to start 401k accounts or to have an emergency fund. It’s too soon to tell whether Marjorie will emerge wiser for having faced adversity. I hope so.

Meanwhile, I am remembering the stories of my elders, the times in life when I was poor, lonesome, or frustrated, and I can think if the ways they made me more resilient and wiser, even when I couldn’t have known that at the time. Our parents called it building character. Maybe they were right!

All of this is to say that there are many ways of looking at the current situation, and they are largely determined by your experiences, your age, gender, nationality/culture, and your overall outlook on life. If you are chronically anxious, critical, or pessimistic, you will see the more dire scenarios. If you’re optimistic, self-aware, and reasonably often experience equanimity, you’ll be less distressed. None of these ways of being are exclusive of others, and none are inherently bad or wrong! Nor is it true that we can do nothing to change our outlook. We can, and I’ll be speaking with you about the wisdom that comes from creativity this Sunday.

To prepare for Sunday’s service, please take this survey:  ARE YOU A CULTURAL CREATIVE?

Meanwhile, know that I am here for and with you, and look forward to seeing everyone together as soon as it’s wise!

Love & Thanks,

Cynthia

The path to my hoped-for building site.

Hello from my isolation to yours!

 I am here in Kentucky at my farm. Seth is watching Monty Python and laughing. Eric is busy building porches and renovating our tiny house. We had planned to use some inheritance funds to build a house on the ridge of our land, but we decided it would be more sustainable to fix this one up. At first, I was disappointed, because since we bought this 25-acre farm, I’ve planned and expected to move out to the lower acreage, where it’s breezy even in hot weather and where the view is gorgeous year-round. I pictured spending my older years there, at least until it becomes impractical.

 But that particular dream is not to be. Losing something that you never had is nonetheless a trigger for grief. I went through a deep depression after my divorce thirty years ago, even though I was the one who left. It took me many years and much internal work to understand that I was grieving the loss of a future with my family intact. It doesn’t matter whether the loss was expected, celebrated, or sudden and devastating. The effects are much the same. Grief is different than depression. It’s necessary, and it ultimately makes us free. 

Is there a dream or a future you hoped or worked for, but must let go? It could be dancing, writing, travel, having a happy marriage or a big family. It could be a healthy old age or a good relationship with your grown children. Your deepest Wisdom will tell you, through your dreams, your health, and finally, if you don’t grieve, through depression. Isolation makes depression worse. If you notice signs of clinical depression worsening, please reach out. There are resources out there for everyone. What we can do for one another right now, when isolation is mandatory, when we cannot go to our exercise classes, our book groups, or our church services, is to keep our GNUUC community alive in spirit as well as body.

I’m working with your leaders and we all desperately want each of you to know we are here for you. If needed, I can be in Nashville in under 3 hours. There are younger, healthier members who can bring you things you may need. There is money that we can use to help you if you are out of work or financially challenged. We can also help you find the resources you may need.

Finally, as I’ve told you, my son Colin likes to tell the rest of us when we are gloomy, “Go help someone!” It’s annoying, but he’s right. It always works. If we can reach out, even in small ways, to others, we will feel better!

So, what I ask for you today is to help me and help one another. It’s difficult for me to make calls here because our cell connection is iffy. I will be calling a few people a day, but you can serve by calling one other person a day. If you aren’t comfortable calling, look at your GNUUC Directory and send someone that you don’t know well a note or card. Introduce yourself and tell them about you. Maybe they will write back!

If you find that the isolation is too much, if there are things you need or need help with, you can contact me by e-mail or by text or call (brief calls work fine) at cyncain@gnuuc.org OR (859) 221-3034.

I love you and I know we will get through this! We can do it with fear or love. Choose love.

Cynthia

Here are a few resources I recommend!

Calm is a meditation app that usually has a fee, but is providing music, stories (they are wonderful!), sleep and many other guided meditations. Click here for their free resources

If you’d like to try Zen practice or listen to a Dharma talk, check out Upaya Zen Center here.

The view from our yard out to the ridge and forests. Innisfree Farm

The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul.

 ~  C.G. Jung

Hello Dear GNUUCers!

I’ve missed everyone so much! It’s been a little over two weeks since I saw most of you, but it feels much longer. Yesterday was the first day I left the farm (other than to go for walks) and the first time I drove in 14 days. It’s humbling and edifying to depend upon others and to be confronted with mortality and lack of mobility. It can make you discouraged and depressed or be a spur to live more intentionally and learn the greatest wisdom: the wisdom of letting go.

As a fan and erstwhile student (by which I mean I am no expert despite having read and experienced Jungian philosophy for ten years)of Carl Jung, I rejoice in his proclamations that life can be fully experienced and explored until it ends. He often said that it was the second half of life during which we gain wisdom. And as long as we are cognizant, we can experience the wonders of travel, that is, travel inwards to explore what he calls the “soul” or what we may call the “Self.”

An excellent way to engage in self-discovery and to tap into the wisdom that we already possess is to analyze our dreams. I’ll be talking with you about that and other doors to consciousness on March 8th and 15th. If you’d like to send me a dream that you have recorded, you can do so via e-mail. I may include it in the morning’s service with your permission. A few requirements: write the dream in the first person PRESENT. “I am going into a house and I see a tall, slender woman with black hair.” Just write as much as you remember without including any reflections. Then, after you’ve written it (snippets are fine), tell me what your feeling was during the dream": Fear? Joy? Annoyance? Let me know if it’s a recurring dream.

Don’t worry. I will not be analyzing anyone. Only the dreamer can say for sure what the dream means.

I’ve long felt that dreamwork (which I started at least 25 years ago) is a perfect spiritual practice for UUs. Jung would say that dreams originate in both our own unconscious and the collective unconscious. You may find that a stretch. But even if you acknowledge that dreams are comprised of our own inner landscapes, it’s not hard to find helpful messages. Jeremy Taylor, a UU minister (now deceased) and widely acknowledged dream instructor/author, says that dreams never come to tell us something we already know.

I hope to see you all this Sunday as we have an introduction to the topic of Wisdom, and through the month as well. Thanks to each and every one of you for the cards, notes, texts, and well wishes. You are a genuinely caring and loving group of friends. What a blessing to one another and to all who join you.

Cynthia

Hello GNUUCers & Friends,

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about Jung and a few of the principles he discovered. His writings are somewhat dense and dry, but much has been written and spoken about him that is helpful if you want to take a deeper dive. I will list a few podcasts that you may enjoy and suggest some books.

One of the juiciest things about ministry is that when I embark upon a topic, I spend time either reacquainting myself or familiarizing myself before I engage with the sermon. It’s been several years since I read about and studied Jung, and my grasp of the concepts had grown stale.

But whenever I share a topic with you during the service, I always find that I need to hear the words I’ve spoken as much as or more than you may. It’s much like any kind of teaching: in order to be helpful to others, you will be learning and growing, too.

After speaking with you on Sunday, I had surgery on my 65th birthday. It was a bit more extensive than I had planned, and I spent one night in the hospital. What I noticed about myself was that I engaged so much more personally with all the nursing and care staff. I remembered and called them by their names. I made sure to tell them how much I appreciated them, asked them how they managed 12-hour shifts and commented upon something I liked about them. I focused upon them as individuals rather than an extension or projection of my discomfort or worry. I looked around me before the operation began and noticed more details about the room and the people than I ever have done before surgery.

I wasn’t consciously doing this because I’d been studying Jung, but so much of his message deals with how we can have more joyful and meaningful lives through our own decisions and interactions. We all have burdens, griefs, and unfilled dreams. We cannot control so much of life and its vicissitudes. But we can control how we engage life. This makes us more resilient and more individuated. Much like the lessons taught by mindfulness, recovery programs, and Jungian Dream work, we really can center ourselves in this day which, no matter what the news tells us, is all we really have. It will make us more aware of those around us, more loving and forgiving, and ultimately happier and more resilient.

I wish you a happy moment or two or a dozen this day.

Yours with love,

Cynthia

PODCASTS

https://jungchicago.org/blog/

https://speakingofjung.com/podcast

https://jungian.libsyn.com/

BOOKS

These are for relationships and very good:

https://harvilleandhelen.com/

Dream and Dreamwork:

http://www.jeremytaylor.com/books_and_dvds/index.html#

Jeremy Taylor was a UU minister and one of the most accessible and renowned dream experts.I recommend Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill  to start with.

A word of caution: do not use dream “dictionaries”. Do not engage in dream analysis without some training. Do not employ Jungian theory or practice upon yourself. Don’t use the materials to diagnose yourself and especially not to diagnose/judge others. It’s always a temptation but I caution against it! Find a Jungian analyst, spiritual director, or Imago therapist to visit. That said, using the concepts to understand yourself and others can always lead to forgiveness, understanding and resilience. More on dreamwork coming in March!

Thank you so much for the cake and for your generosity of love and spirit!

This past Sunday, I decided to attend services as an observer. Here are some things I saw:

I saw our teens Miles and Xander courageously lead parts of the service. Did you know speaking in public is the second biggest fear after death? We help empower them with unconditional love.

Kristin and the youth did an inspiring and thoughtful service. Although it’s called “Family Service,” there’s plenty for all ages to contemplate. I was still musing about resilience that afternoon.

There were two new children who were about 5 and 2. Little blonde boys who appeared to feel quite at home, and who (along with Lillie and Alice) added that dimension which reminds us that part of our ministry lies in the world we create for the youngest.

I saw Larry gently guiding one of the young boys to take his parents’ offering to the ushers. Theresa and I shared a smile, seeing this. The gentleness and encouragement from Larry made an indelible image for me.

The time of sharing joys and sorrows/concerns was a micro-service. People of all ages, shapes & longevity at GNUUC shared the sources of their hope. It was the perfect day to introduce resilience as a theme. While some came in looking like deflated balloons after a week of despair for our nation, I’m pretty sure many left with glimmers of hope. That’s why we exist.

I don’t remember all of the sharing, but one that I can recall was Dan Crowe’s. He stood and said the best antidote for despair is to help others, then listed several area service organizations that need help. It reminded me of my son Colin who says to us when we get into self-pity, GO HELP SOMEONE. That reminds me: we need a few folks to help with transportation and other things for Room in the Inn THIS week. Contact Jesse.

After the service, conversations ranged from casual to deep. At the table I joined, we started out with banter about the Chicken Soup for the Soul books so popular last century, then spoke about death, and how long is too long to live. We didn’t arrive at the answer, but I saw and felt deep listening and respect for all opinions. Someone told me our lunches are the most important thing we do.

At least an hour past the service, I peeked in to see that Mike, Sarajane, and a few others (I know Loretta helped that day, too) still tidying up the kitchen. It’s a mostly thankless task, but I hope those who do it regularly know that it is a ministry, creating a space of hospitality and warmth for cultivating new connections and deepening old ones. (And, if you’d like to give some of these folks a break, volunteer to help. At present, I think Jesse is the person to contact here as well. I saw Nathanael sitting with the family who visited and thought: if I met someone as upbeat and friendly as he, I’d return for sure!

Two new members signed the book! There are others who intend to. When about ten or twelve folks have joined, we’ll have a welcoming ceremony (with cake).

You are all such beautiful people! I’m so grateful to be a part of your collective and individual lives,

With Love,

Cynthia

AGE

As I write this, I'm sitting here at CVS waiting to get a flu shot. The pharmacist told me that if I wait until 2/10, I can get the super flu shot they give people starting at 65. But, I'll be having surgery to fix my hernia repair on my birthday! And I want to be protected before that.

Sometimes, your age bothers you more than others. When I see my high school friends on social media, I realize it's true: we ARE old! But to those for whom 65 seems eons away: it comes along faster than you can imagine, and you will still feel young inside even as your face and body age. You won't be a different person, even if you look entirely different! 

Our February topic is "resilience"... and aging is just one of many things we need to bend and reimagine ourselves for. Parenting, grief, adversity, and illness are a few others.  And it's one of the best reasons for belonging to a faith community.  We can be so much more together than we can separately! We can influence the present and the future. We can learn from and be inspired and challenged by one another. Best of all, we can companion each other as we walk the long journey of life. What a privilege we have in each other!

Thanks for allowing me to companion you on this journey. 

Love, Cynthia