How are you feeling today?
I began last week’s Thursday Thoughts with the same question. 
So much has transpired since then. 
I hesitate to make assumptions on how anyone else is feeling. 
I certainly don’t have all the answers. 

Though as I sat in my office on Wednesday, wrestling with a good word to share, I was thinking of wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron. 
I am happy and secure in my Christian faith, and I find that other World Religions have wisdom to offer, too. 

In that spirit, Pema Chodron advised that we can feel the feelings and drop the story.  In other words, we are invited to be fully present to our feelings without needing to analyze our thoughts and why we are feeling a particular way.  Sometimes the practice of feeling the feelings and dropping the story is shared by using the acronym FEAR: 

  1. Feel the feeling. Don’t resist it but welcome it.
  2. Embrace it. Be curious about the feeling instead of becoming overwhelmed by it. Where do you feel it? What are the physical sensations that accompany it?
  3. Allow it to dissolve. Simply watch as it dissipates on its own. Neither push it away or stop it from dissolving!
  4. Remember that you are not alone. Others are feeling this same feeling right now too.*

Maybe this is helpful, especially for anyone who is struggling. 
Sometimes it also helps to remember that we are not alone, we are not alone in our feelings or in our lives.  There is power in community. 
There is strength that we can draw on from one another. 
Our calling to Be the Church here in Colchester, Connecticut remains.

Be the Church. 
Protect the environment.  Care for the poor. 
Forgive often.  Reject racism. 
Fight for the powerless. 
Share earthly and spiritual resources. 
Embrace diversity.  Love God.  Enjoy this life. 

Love,
Pastor Lauren

*”Feel the Feeling and Drop the Story,” https://matthewroot.ca/2018/07/30/feel-the-feeling-and-drop-the-story/

Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 11/7/24