Inclusion Requires Action
Rev. John DePalma
“Stand Tall and Proud, Go Out on a Limb, Remember Your Roots, Drink Plenty of Water, Be Content with Your Unique Natural Beauty, Enjoy the View.”
– Advice from a Tree by Ilan Shamir
Life has always been filled with opportunities – opportunities to respond and create; opportunities to evolve and advance. We can do so by the law of averages or by our conscious and intentional use of the creative process we know as the Science of Mind principles. As we filter these opportunities through our faith, there is the opportunity to go deeper, transforming our lives individually, and collectively as community.
This month we are called to such an opportunity. Through our collaborative efforts with Namaste Center for Spiritual Living, we are being called to experience “Adventures in Faith.” This opportunity is to begin a deeper exploration into how we experience diversity and inclusivity. We say there is only one life, but
we can only know it through the lives of each one of us. Do we have an open heart and mind, eyes to see and ears to hear the divine individualization expressed in our social interactions?
Do we have the willingness to create sacred space, with safety and extraordinary respect, to get to be real, to get to know each other’s hearts, to celebrate the diversity of different points of view, different life experiences without judgment and a requirement to be right? Can we truly create a beloved community where oneness does not require sameness?
These questions can trigger diverse emotions and challenges to how we navigate those difficult conversations. But if we can’t do it here, where can we begin to heal the divisiveness that we all experience in our culture at large?
I truly believe Ernest Holmes would be cheering us on as we each take action in learning how to navigate these issues and teaching them by example, for this is not just something we can pass onto our leadership to make us all feel more comfortable. Boats are safe in harbors, but that’s not what they are designed for. We’re called to stay open at the top and these issues are the next great expression of the evolution and transformation of consciousness. As the song goes, “We’ll build it better than we did before, we are the people we’ve been waiting for!”
Rev. John DePalma
Rev John’s personal mission is to help our spiritual centers build diverse, inclusive, healthy, sustainable, and thriving spiritual communities. Why? To awaken humanity to its Spiritual Magnificence and create a world that works for all where no child goes hungry, where no one fears persecution, where no one is unloved and where prosperity and peace prevail.