Our Commitment to Ourselves
Preached 3/21/2021 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Happy Spring! The Pagan holiday of Ostara is upon us, and Easter is just around the corner. Hmm, Ostara, Easter… they sound similar… I wonder why? I’ll probably talk about that in an upcoming sermon!
But for today, happy spring! It’s the perfect time to be thinking about commitment, as March turns from lion to lamb before our eyes. March is a time of change, and we are in the midst of a beautiful change, a time when mother nature fulfills her commitment to us, her promise that beneath the snow there were seeds all along. Life has continued. And through the past difficult year, all the time there were seeds of light and love. Writer Athena Perakis says, “(Book of Blessings p. 32-33)”
So here is a blessing, an invocation, a calling to connect with all forms of new life, and to begin the spring season in balance with all that is. (BoB p. 34)
In this time of abundance, the commitments that we make start within ourselves. One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Parker Palmer, who said “Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.” If you do not give good care to yourself, you are not able to offer yourself to others. It is our highest calling to be kind to ourselves.
That commitment to the care of self is our highest calling, and it means things like staying hydrated and getting enough sleep. It means taking time for yourself and, yes, even skipping church when you feel that you need the sleep! Self-care can also mean coming to church even when you don’t feel like it because you know that being here with your SWUU family will lead to you walking away feeling stronger and better and more ready to take on the week.
Really, that’s a good rule of thumb: self-care is not whatever makes you feel good at the moment, but what will make you feel better in the coming week. I’d like to sleep in this morning, but skipping being here would not have led to a good week for me.
And one of the ways that we are taught to learn how to make these decisions: do I sleep in because I’m exhausted? Will that be more healthy for me? Or should I go to church?
Sometimes it’s hard to discern the right action in self-care. And what we should do in those moments is slow down. Listen to your inner voice. What does your heart need?
What does your heart need? Science has found neurons not just in our brains but in our physical hearts. Your heart and your gut both contain neurons and are thought of as a second and third brain. What do your heart neurons think? What do they need? What are they asking for? What are the needs of your innermost self? We can only discern this through slowing down and embracing stillness.
Mindful Self-Compassion is a type of practice that is centered on intentionally being compassionate toward the self. Many of us have been taught in western culture, with its emphasis on the protestant work ethic and pulling ourselves up by our boot strings that compassion is reserved for others. Perhaps for the greater good. But it can be very difficult to be kind to ourselves.
Would you allow a friend to speak to you in the way that you speak to yourself? This is a challenge because it is so foreign to our culture. But again, self-care is our highest calling, because, with it, we care for the one gift we have to offer to others.
I’d like to lead us through a self-compassion exercise now. During this exercise I’m going to encourage you to use some words that are comforting to you. So before we begin, here are some words and phrases that people often find comforting. Take note of what feels especially good to you, and remember it, to repeat during the exercise.
(Mindful Path to Self-Compassion p. 137)
The kind of compassion that we are invoking is loving-kindness or metta. Directing this compassion toward yourself is an important exercise that has been shown in many scientific studies to aid in physical as well as psychological healing. Let’s take your phrase and use it.
(p. 233 in the Teaching MSC book)
If you find that it is hard to direct compassion toward yourself, try imagining someone with whom you have a loving and uncomplicated relationship with - a pet, a child. Or imagine a puppy or a kitten. See if you can put yourself beside that being in your image, and spread the warm feelings of compassion and love to both of you, then take out the other being and leave that sense of love with just you.
This is truly a hopeful time. The world is blooming and you are invited to be a part of that blooming. You already are. So I urge you to hold onto that loving phrase and repeat it to yourself. It will water you like a flower.
Preached 3/21/2021 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Happy Spring! The Pagan holiday of Ostara is upon us, and Easter is just around the corner. Hmm, Ostara, Easter… they sound similar… I wonder why? I’ll probably talk about that in an upcoming sermon!
But for today, happy spring! It’s the perfect time to be thinking about commitment, as March turns from lion to lamb before our eyes. March is a time of change, and we are in the midst of a beautiful change, a time when mother nature fulfills her commitment to us, her promise that beneath the snow there were seeds all along. Life has continued. And through the past difficult year, all the time there were seeds of light and love. Writer Athena Perakis says, “(Book of Blessings p. 32-33)”
So here is a blessing, an invocation, a calling to connect with all forms of new life, and to begin the spring season in balance with all that is. (BoB p. 34)
In this time of abundance, the commitments that we make start within ourselves. One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Parker Palmer, who said “Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.” If you do not give good care to yourself, you are not able to offer yourself to others. It is our highest calling to be kind to ourselves.
That commitment to the care of self is our highest calling, and it means things like staying hydrated and getting enough sleep. It means taking time for yourself and, yes, even skipping church when you feel that you need the sleep! Self-care can also mean coming to church even when you don’t feel like it because you know that being here with your SWUU family will lead to you walking away feeling stronger and better and more ready to take on the week.
Really, that’s a good rule of thumb: self-care is not whatever makes you feel good at the moment, but what will make you feel better in the coming week. I’d like to sleep in this morning, but skipping being here would not have led to a good week for me.
And one of the ways that we are taught to learn how to make these decisions: do I sleep in because I’m exhausted? Will that be more healthy for me? Or should I go to church?
Sometimes it’s hard to discern the right action in self-care. And what we should do in those moments is slow down. Listen to your inner voice. What does your heart need?
What does your heart need? Science has found neurons not just in our brains but in our physical hearts. Your heart and your gut both contain neurons and are thought of as a second and third brain. What do your heart neurons think? What do they need? What are they asking for? What are the needs of your innermost self? We can only discern this through slowing down and embracing stillness.
Mindful Self-Compassion is a type of practice that is centered on intentionally being compassionate toward the self. Many of us have been taught in western culture, with its emphasis on the protestant work ethic and pulling ourselves up by our boot strings that compassion is reserved for others. Perhaps for the greater good. But it can be very difficult to be kind to ourselves.
Would you allow a friend to speak to you in the way that you speak to yourself? This is a challenge because it is so foreign to our culture. But again, self-care is our highest calling, because, with it, we care for the one gift we have to offer to others.
I’d like to lead us through a self-compassion exercise now. During this exercise I’m going to encourage you to use some words that are comforting to you. So before we begin, here are some words and phrases that people often find comforting. Take note of what feels especially good to you, and remember it, to repeat during the exercise.
(Mindful Path to Self-Compassion p. 137)
The kind of compassion that we are invoking is loving-kindness or metta. Directing this compassion toward yourself is an important exercise that has been shown in many scientific studies to aid in physical as well as psychological healing. Let’s take your phrase and use it.
(p. 233 in the Teaching MSC book)
If you find that it is hard to direct compassion toward yourself, try imagining someone with whom you have a loving and uncomplicated relationship with - a pet, a child. Or imagine a puppy or a kitten. See if you can put yourself beside that being in your image, and spread the warm feelings of compassion and love to both of you, then take out the other being and leave that sense of love with just you.
This is truly a hopeful time. The world is blooming and you are invited to be a part of that blooming. You already are. So I urge you to hold onto that loving phrase and repeat it to yourself. It will water you like a flower.