Now Our Minds Are One©
Reverend Janet Parsons
Gloucester UU Church
November 18, 2018
As some of you know, in recent months I have been dabbling in pottery. It has been a challenging and quite humbling hobby so far. I like to tell people that I aspire to mediocrity. But as difficult as I find it, I have been aware since the beginning that pottery, like all creative arts, has much to teach us about the life and growth of the spirit.
Possibly one of the most important steps in throwing a pot, and one of the most difficult, is centering the clay. After wedging, or kneading the clay, the potter places it on the wheel and begins to center it, using their hands and the centrifugal force of the spinning wheel to make sure that the clay is both stuck to the wheel, and positioned correctly and evenly.
But it turns out that there is another purpose for centering; not just to make sure the clay is firmly and evenly placed. One instructor explained to me that the real goal of centering is to make sure that all of the molecules in the ball of clay are moving in the same direction.
Moving in the same direction. So that they are working together, not exerting opposite force on each other, so that they can be molded and shaped into something new and strong.
It occurs to me that there are moments throughout our lives when we are offered an opportunity for centering. A prayer or time of meditation in a church service is an obvious opportunity – think back a few minutes ago when we breathed a little while together, and then listened to the tone of the singing bowl. We are present, placed firmly, feet on the floor, oriented in the same direction.
Now our minds are one.
The Thanksgiving Address that we shared earlier in our service is just such an opportunity for centering. By sitting through a lengthy litany of thanks, everyone present is brought to a place of agreement, of accord. It becomes an orientation of our minds and hearts, so that we are all turning in the same direction, much as do the molecules of clay properly centered on a wheel.
What would happen if we were oriented toward gratitude? If we held our thanks to the natural world at the core of our being and our spiritual practice?
Imagine if our country could come together in this way. How would we be served by our elected officials? Today we exist in a culture that emphasizes all that divides us: red or blue, progressive or conservative, opinions on gun ownership or the right of a woman to choose. We lead from our positions; we enter the room and sit at the table already backed into our corners.
In contrast, the Haudenosaunee people make their decisions by consensus. And so their ancient practice of expressing gratitude to the natural world helps to orient them toward all the aspects of life that they can agree on. They will make their decisions only ‘when their minds are one.’ Native American author Robin Wall Kimmerer invites us to imagine a meeting that begins with the Thanksgiving Address. She mentions how the lawyers in the room have trouble sitting through it, have trouble not glancing at their watches. But then she says, “…the Words that Come Before All Else begin to flow, and you start to answer. Yes, of course we are grateful for Mother Earth.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, Canada: Milkweed Editions, 2013. p. 113.) We are grateful for clean water, for all the gifts of food that we are given, for the sun and the moon and the stars, for the wisdom of those who teach us. And everyone present can see that they share much more than they realize, and that it is possible for their minds to be one.
Imagine a culture that begins from a place of thanks. That considers gratitude as its first priority. What might it look like?
For starters, we might be satisfied with less. We live in a consumer-oriented society, and are susceptible to advertising that makes us want what we do not have. We focus on scarcity, on what is missing, rather than abundance, on what we have. If we felt content and appreciative for the world around us, we might want less. We might spend less, incur less debt. And we might be more generous.
In a culture of gratitude, the relationships between us and the natural world, and to one another, and to our teachers, become reciprocal. We must nurture and support each other, in order that we can continue to enjoy all the sustenance, all the bounty and the love, that are so freely offered to us. In order for us to be in relationship with all of life around us, to appreciate it and become willing to sustain it, we must first notice it and be thankful.
The wisdom of the Thanksgiving Address is particularly valuable for Unitarian Universalists. It’s impossible to hear it and not think of our seventh principle: that we covenant – we promise – to respect the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part. And if we are a part of this creation, this interdependent web, we need to do all we can to nurture and support it. Live in gratitude.
This week, in all you do, give thanks. Give thanks for the long lines at the grocery store, for they show us that many people are able to participate in our holiday. Give thanks for this fertile planet, for the plants and animals, and all those who grow what we need to live. Give thanks for one another, for all we gain from learning from each other and loving those around us.
Now, may our minds be one.
Blessed Be.
Amen.
