In every struggle for social justice, we eventually face a deeply personal and communal question:  Where do I draw my line of resistance?  Some of us are called to march in the streets.  Some to organize quietly behind the scenes.  Some to disrupt unjust systems through civil disobedience.  Some to work patiently within institutions.  Some … Continue reading Your Line of Resistance

Daryl Davis is known for a practice that defies easy moral categories: he listens to people who have embraced ideologies rooted in hate. Not to excuse those beliefs. Not to endorse them. But to understand the human story beneath them. Over decades, this practice has contributed to dozens of people leaving white supremacist movements—sometimes literally … Continue reading Listening as Resistance

Unfulfilled resolutions often fail because they live only in our ideals, not in our daily lives. Resolutions ask us to leap; habits invite us to step. A resolution says, “I will be different,” while a habit quietly asks, “What is the smallest faithful action I can repeat?”  Transformation happens not through dramatic promises but through … Continue reading From Resolutions to Habits

Darkness is not the enemy of hope.  It is the place where hope goes to gather strength.  Yet we live in a world that urges us to avoid the darkness and move toward the light as quickly as possible.  But spiritually and emotionally, darkness is not always a problem to be solved.  Often, darkness is … Continue reading Dark to Light

Hope is often described as a feeling inside an individual heart—but hope, at its deepest and most transformative, is a communal force.  Something that lives between us, not only within us. Something we generate and sustain together.  In times of discouragement, it can be hard to kindle hope alone.  But when we step into community—into … Continue reading Rallying Hope

Expectations help us plan, motivate, anticipate. They give structure to our days and meaning to our striving. Yet the same structures that steady us can also confine us. Expectations—our own or those placed on us—can quietly narrow our imagination, shrink our sense of possibility, or convince us that hope lives only on one particular path, … Continue reading Hope Beyond Expectations

A theology of gratitude offers a way to approach ultimate reality not through fear, submission, or entitlement, but through awe, humility, interconnection, and reverence. In a Unitarian Universalist frame, where belief is not bound to a single creed but to shared values and a free search for truth, gratitude can serve as a spiritual foundation … Continue reading My Theology of Gratitude

Fred Rogers once said that when scary or tragic things happen, his mother would tell him:  “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”  When we “look for the helpers,” we are not denying that something hard or frightening is happening.  We are shifting our gaze — if only slightly — … Continue reading Look for the Helpers

Gratitude, though deeply meaningful, isn’t always simple.  It lives both as a genuine inner posture and as a cultural expectation—and those expectations can uplift or burden, connect or silence, depending on how they’re held.  Gratitude can be a social glue, cultivating warmth, reinforcing respect, and guiding us to look beyond ourselves.  And gratitude can be … Continue reading Welcoming Gratitude

Making gratitude a way of life is less about a single moment of feeling thankful and more about developing a habit of noticing what’s already here. It’s about training our hearts and minds to keep returning, again and again, to wonder and appreciation. It’s about the rituals we create that move gratitude from an occasional … Continue reading Gratitude as a Choice