This last week I had a blessed opportunity to take in my first Thursday Coffee & Connection meeting alongside Rev. Corinne Crockett. I was curious, as I’m sure were some of the others, to see how it was. And what I heard was a beautiful expression of the value of two key things that were named during our time together: the importance of community and connection.
According to one person, who gave me permission to share this, these weren’t idle words – they were generative words – in the sense that it was quickly apparent that both these qualities were already clearly living in this shared Zoom space.
The sentiment was so powerful that through the remainder of this person’s day, inspiration led to “Stranger Sharing” – which we spoke of. This individual shared that declaring “Have a gentle day” trickled off the tongue, turning heads in what could easily otherwise be humdrum interactions at the grocery store.
This is what it looks like to be living Spirit. And I feel it’s no coincide that the words “community” and “connection” acted as anchors for this coffee time because they reside within the community itself, as do so many other words.
The word cloud above summarizes the shared vision for CSL Kelowna that emerged in words and felt-sense from those present at our Sunday gathering on January 1.
Sure, we’ve always known that community and connection are important. But my gut tells me that until that was taken away during the pandemic, we didn’t really “get it”. We came together, not really knowing why we did so. Was it just for me? Was it to see my friends? Was it to learn something new? Was it to volunteer my time?
What we are learning now is that coming to the Centre can be all these things – and so much more.
And perhaps we wouldn’t see that quite so clearly, with so much passion and depth, if we hadn’t experienced loss.
It’s not big news that loss is not a popular subject. It’s often painful. It can physically hurt. So rather than “go in”, we skirt around the experience.
The alternative is to pay attention, and see what loss is trying to teach us.
When we mindfully experience loss, we receive clarity about what it is we truly love. We begin to ask ourselves: “What do I want from life? How do I want to show up?” – even if that requires us to stretch a bit beyond how we do life when we’re operating on autopilot.
Loss brings life into sharp relief. Loss is a natural part of life. Its value lies in becoming aware of what our values are – what is truly deeply important to us. Then, we move into the space of gratitude.
The pandemic took away community and connection, and now it is giving it back to us.
So what do we want to do with it? How do we want to live our lives?
Rev. Corinne puts it this way: society is moving from a “transactional” time to a “relational” time. We are hungry to connect, and hungry to see what we can co-create when we recognize each other as being part of a larger whole.
In real terms, this awareness is the spark. What emerges is that suddenly each person begins to recognize something bigger is already in the room, simply because we have chosen to see it, and acknowledge in a conscious way that the Divine Consciousness is everywhere present. So ideas fly, newness flies, bonds deepen.
This week, I invite you to ponder community and connection. And when you feel an urge, reach out to that stranger with a simple something that sparks connection. First we feel the connection, then we express from this connected-to-Source heart space.
There is always something beautiful, remarkable, to acknowledge in this world.
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Karin
PS: Watch out for the weekly Our Community blog post published on Thursdays!
If you missed yesterday’s Sunday celebration titled Our Internal Song, you can watch the replay and other past services on the CSLK YouTube channel.
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