Happy July 4th Weekend!
Therese Finn shared these words, “This week we celebrate the 4th of July, our national Independence Day. Our country was founded on the principle that nations and individuals should be free to choose their own destiny. The idea that people have personal freedom was a very forward-thinking concept at the time, and it set in motion the path toward true equality and acceptance for all we’re still traveling more than 200 years later.”
She provides the perfect opening for what I, Rev. Steve, want to share with you today. “The more perfect union” that our founders spoke to in the opening words of the Constitution reflected a notion that was born of goodwill and a higher ideal.
In the Third Principle of Unity, we are taught that our outer world is a reflection of our state of consciousness – the thoughts and feelings that are dominant in our minds and hearts. As we seek a “more perfect union” with the Divine, thereby with the Essence of one another, our greatest freedom is realized.
To endeavor to truly see others in this light seems more of a stretch in modern times as “the thousand voices” call for derision and divisiveness. In the words of so many, “If you don’t think the way I think or vote the way I vote or see things the way I see them, you’re just plain wrong.”
To find our way, we must rediscover our hearts and be willing to make “our” way, one way. A way, perhaps that we have more as a gentle preference than, “This is the only way” – with great emphasis on the “gentle.” We can redirect our passion toward the peace and light that really letting go of judgment provides.
In so doing, we honor all those who have come before us – those who have enjoyed the blessings of such outer freedom, those who walked the path, fettered by many dark and difficult times and those who served so selflessly to help insure the “path” remained available for this journey.
As we hold all in our hearts – past, present, and future – as we seek and find this more perfect union with all that is holy and true.
We Love You,
Rev. Steve and Mary