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You all know I love Joseph Campbell and he says, “…follow your bliss
and don’t be afraid of it. Slay the dragon in you that holds you
back. If the work you are doing is the work you chose to do because
you enjoy it—that’s it! Wonderful! Campbell goes on to say, “But, if
you think, “Oh, no! I couldn’t do that.” “No, I can’t be a writer.
No, I can’t do this or that--that’s the mythological dragon in your
mind locking you in.” He’s talking about those mental demons that
keep us from being fully alive. And I have found that it is in the
attempt at achieving our success with the triumph and tragedy and
the risk that we truly understand what it means live, and to take
advantage of the special life we have been given. As Davies revealed
to us today in the reading, it is having the courage to face our
dreams and the potential failure of those dreams that we stand in
the face of a great opportunity to experience BLISS. But Davies
tells us that it does not always happen. “Not all souls find the
same courage.”
No matter the outcome, when you follow your bliss, whether it is
something big or small, you are doing great soul work! You might
want to be a professional gardener or singer, or actress, or writer
or the best stay at home mom there ever was, or artist or musician,
or politician or president. Whatever you choose to do, it is good
that you have chosen a path. It says that you appreciate the gift
of life and the gifts you have, and that you are an active partaker,
and not a passive participant in life. There is a difference.
As a sidebar, when you look at our growth initiative we’ve taken on
as a church, this is an active plan. It is alive. It is rooted in
helping people find our doors and perhaps if their passion is asleep
we can be the family that embraces them or the church that awakens
them igniting the flame in their hearts! Our plan is full of
passion and hope and courage—the stuff of life! And we should never
look at it as work. It is LIVING. It’s not a mundane process. It’s
not something you agonize over; it is something to be excited about,
something fun. Making new friends, changing people’s lives for the
better is never commonplace.
All of this passion talk RESONATES in me very deeply as a Unitarian
Universalist. For we believe in an end to all social, political and
religious exclusions and an end to those barriers that divide and
separate us as human beings. In substance, “Humanity you are free
to live!” At the very core of who we are, there is a corporate
message for all people that says in substance, “Responsibly live
your bliss. Live your passion!” We understand the sacred circle
and how precious the human race is in this very brief evolutionary
cycle. And so we must, if we can, or if you want—carve out your
little place in the universe.
As I move toward concluding, it is not always possible to do what we
want when we want. Many of us have responsibilities that weigh us
down like anchors. Often times it seems difficult or impossible to
walk away from what we’ve built—the lifestyle, the responsibilities,
etc… Let’s say you are a corporate executive making lots & lots of
money (don’t I wish), but you REALLY want to be a professional
Gardener. Just how can you do that? Is there time? So, the cost must
be counted and the sacrifice must be measured to see if it’s
feasible. Perhaps there is a middle path where you can live your
passion? I cannot prescribe the answer that will lead you to your
“promised land”, so to speak, but what I can say is I think we live
too often in other people’s realities. I don’t want to contradict
myself but what I mean is it is fine if you want to be a fanatic
about team sports; and it’s fine if you like reality TV or A&E or
what have you. But ultimately, you are your best story. The life
you lead is the best story. Your story will impact your life for the
better and could quite possibly make a difference in others’ lives.
So, while you may fantasize over someone else’s life—think about
your story. Then ask yourself: “What more can I do?” If you are
already where you want to be, then obviously this message is not for
you. But I’m referring to myself and to others who feel there is
something more within them that can be REALIZED and then UTILIZED!
Ruth Phillips wrote about her family in the first edition of Freedom
Xpress. If you read what she wrote you can clearly see that her
message is about being fully alive; a participant in life; not being
afraid to live, have a little fun, and accepting the tribulations,
sorrows, and failures that come with living. But in the midst of it
all, finding a way to “Look up, and laugh, and love, and lift.” I’d
like to read the words of the hymn she quoted in her article as I
close. An old hymn, titled “I Would Be True…”
“I WOULD BE TRUE, FOR THERE ARE THOSE WHO TRUST ME; I WOULD BE PURE,
FOR THERE ARE THOSE WHO CARE; I WOULD BE STRONG, FOR THERE IS MUCH
TO SUFFER; I WOULD BE BRAVE, FOR THERE IS MUCH TO DARE; I WOULD
BEFRIEND ALL—THE FOE, THE FRIENDLESS; I WOULD BE GIVING, AND FORGET
THE GIFT; I WOULD BE HUMBLE, FOR I KNOW MY WEAKNESS;
I WOULD LOOK UP, AND LAUGH, AND LOVE, AND LIFT!”
Find your bliss. Create your own story. Live your passion and all
the while try to “look up, and laugh, and love, and lift! That is
the message this morning. Let it be so. Amen.
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