During her recent sermon at Follen, Rev. Mary Margaret Earl asked each of us to share a core strength within ourselves that helps us through these turbulent times. This is what was shared.
- My mother’s love, and modeling of character
- To experience and connect with the divine
- My family – we held one another, we cried together, we found laughter & joy together
- Love
- Music & art
- Steady & unwavering support from family members
- Energy, courage, faith
- Lead with kindness, look for beauty wherever I am in the wild alive struggling world, observe & share observation
- Determination
- My connection & commitment to others who rely on me. Knowing my strength is shared with those others.
- Solitude that allows me to re-center myself and to start dreaming again.
- Love & generosity
- Follen – my faith community
- A love of life
- Compassion
- Perseverance (9!)
- Family & community
- Kindness, clarity & love
- Being a parent
- Integrity & perseverance
- Hope & positive thinking
- A knack for friendship, good capacity for connection
- My outrage at injustice
- Sense of fairness for self & others
- Focusing on a bigger cause than myself, my children, flexibility
- My mom’s love
- Breathing practice
- Ability to be in the moment
- Surrender, humility. Having lost everything, I found myself homeless. It took me a while to get sober, but powerlessness is surrender, and humility is as well.
- Life affirming love I have for my trans sons
- Fire kills mother, brother & two sisters
- My trust in the Divine Guest at the center of the love that comes from human faces
- The best & the worst memories. My husband, my father, my son, my friends
- Finding the strength to walk / exercise to be able to sleep & reach for the closeness of family & friends
- Compassion that stems from our understanding of being as one as interconnected self
- Faith
- Compassion, belief in the goodness of people
- Resilience. The year I lost both my parents, had a baby, moved cross country, started a new job.
- Understanding deep in my being that everything is constantly changing
- I am empathetic
- A vision of what the future could be
- Perseverance. I recall summoning this up at times of turmoil – divorce, death
- Following being widowed, the memories of her and ongoing love from my kids
- My friends, now and always
- Love of a partner
- The courage to admit the truth
- The hope & knowledge that there is a better person inside of me that I can become. I’m willing to put in the work of becoming that person.
- My fascinating family!
- My ability to connect with others who can support me and my larger circles
- A deep realization that life is precious, even as we are really an insignificant nano dot in the universe. And to that preciousness is the importance of meaning – what is life but a struggle for justice & love.
- I’m tenacious & can improvise
- My capacity for connection, having loved ones & friends who I can rely on in times of greatest need. This is a tremendous privilege
- Focus & perseverance
- My strength is my true love A.
- Connections to spirit, friends & family
- Courage to speak, support be kind, act, love
- The ever-changing beauty of nature
- I often fall short of my goals (in my opinion) and don’t give up. Before total despair, I ask for help.
- God’s grace, courage
- Responding to the needs of others
- Authenticity – open vulnerability
- A home & community to return to
- Serenity
- Persistence, hope, love
- Optimism
- Perseverance & equanimity
- To say “yes” when it counts, out loud. To say “no” when it counts, out loud.
- Perseverance, problem solving, talking with friends
- Our faith & beliefs
- Love & gratitude
- I alone determine if I can happy or sad
- Community
- Knowing people I love needed me to be strong
- Just carrying on
- Solitude, music, literature
- Love of family & friends
- Awareness that I was suffocating … bravery to try something new despite others’ judgements
- The golden light that lives within my chest. The need to bring my children through difficult times.
- Love, friendship, books
- Our family