Memory and Imagination

By Rev. Carol Bodeau

Dear Friends,

This last Sunday, Chris Edkins gave our annual Janus service at Westside. This is a New Year’s tradition; one started by founding member Bill Calhoun and picked up by Chris when Bill was no longer able to lead it. Each year, we reflect on what has passed, on what it is time to let go of, in order to prepare ourselves for the new reality of the coming year.

This year’s Janus service was particularly poignant, as Chris lost his wife, Janet, only a few weeks ago. She was beloved by all of Westside, and this was a sudden and profound loss. Also, many of us are feeling incredible change in our nation and world, and facing the coming year with some deep uncertainty. We don’t quite know how to prepare for the coming days, or set intentions, or even exactly how we are feeling. The holidays this year were, for many, a needed respite in the face of a tumultuous world. But now that respite is ending, and we are left asking, “Well, what will come next?”

In his sermon, one phrase that Chris used stuck out quite strongly for me: Memory and Imagination. These two things play together in our minds and hearts as we face both the routine and the dramatic uncertainties of our lives. How can we remember in ways that fuel positive imagination? For me, that question begs another, perhaps more profound, question:

How do we find the timeless, that which is unimpacted by the vicissitudes of the human journey, as an anchor point in a changing world? As Chris pointed out, our expectations and assumptions are often not the best guideline for ‘what comes next.’ And yet we need something to hold onto.

For me, the most important things to hold onto are the values and qualities that I can live by regardless of passing time and changing circumstances, values that are made clear in our UU principles and purposes. These are things that I can choose to focus on in my memories, and also in my imaginations for the future.

Love.

Caring for one another and the earth.

Trying to make things better, in whatever ways we can.

Connection, community, and hope in the face of whatever comes. And a willingness to continue learning and growing.

The truth is that we never really know what’s coming on any given day; our sense of predictability is a bit of an illusion that can be stripped away quite unexpectedly. And yet, I believe that life is basically good, and that there is always hope. I believe good surprises are possible.

And so, in the face of whatever comes, I choose to expect the best of people, to look for small miracles, and to believe in the power of love.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Rev. Carol