The English word, ?Courage,? literally means the power of the heart. Courage, the power of the heart, is our focus for October. It takes courage to let summer go, to celebrate the beauty of the leaves turning orange/yellow/red, knowing trees will stand bare, waiting, through winter, fast approaching. It takes courage to face autumn in this 3rd year of
pandemic. The unknown. Nothing covering it up. Part of me resists, even as I marvel at fall?s finale of color. How do we motivate ourselves to let go of that which is passing away? How do we accept and even celebrate that which is arising and falling away within us and all around us? I hear the words of Marge Piercy, “I do not seek to stop this wheel of change, but to dance in its turning.” When I read her words, I felt caught in the act: I was trying to stop the wheel of change, as my youngest child finished high school. Excited for him, I needed to feel the heaviness at the loss of his childhood. I needed to grieve, so I could celebrate his transformation into a young adult. I hung a banner of her words across the archway to my kitchen and set my intention to dance. Today, I remember as a child jumping with glee in neatly raked piles of leaves. As I write, the trees dance in the wind and rain. Right here, in this moment, the rain subsides and all is well. I dance in these words. In the midst of morphing pandemic. In the midst of uncharted change. And beneath these words I feel quiet joy, waiting to respond with courage, as needed.
Rev. Mary
