As the calendar turns from one year to the next, it’s a natural time to take stock of the return on whatever investments we have made with our lives over the prior year. With anxiety over the economy so often in the news, we could be easily seduced into thinking our bottom line is the only meaningful measure of our lives. But, it is not, and it never really has been. After all, when was the last time you attended a memorial service where the balance of the dearly departed’s bank account mattered—unless that person had somehow managed to be extraordinarily generous with whatever they had?
While we cannot always forecast our financial futures with as much certainty as we might like, there is much we can do to ensure a healthy, balanced, and meaningful life. So, here’s my best spiritual investment advice to you:
Engage: Jump in with everything you’ve got. Don’t hold back! It’s like the Hokey-Pokey: “You put your whole self in, you take your whole self out, you put your whole self in, and you shake it all about. . .” The poet Wendell Berry was so right when he said, “Every day you have less reason not to give yourself away.”
Diversify: Broaden your involvement. Branch out. Have a spiritual life that extends beyond Sundays. Listen to different opinions. Seek out new perspectives. Consider possibilities you never have before.
Go with your gut: Trust your instincts, and be guided by that “voice, still and small” within. Regularly ask yourself what you are feeling called to do with your life, and when the way becomes clear, go for it!
Follow your bliss: Invest your time and energy and resources into the things inthis world that matter most to you. Give the labour of your heart and your hands to making the difference that you, alone, can.
Be in for the long-haul: Deepen your commitment to what spiritually sustains you and this community. Reach out to others. Join a small group. Come to see Coffee Hour as an adventure! Help out with what needs to be done. Take on responsibility. Take up leadership. Take your spiritual development seriously.
As we move into this new season, this is the soundest advice I can offer. As your advisor, please let me know if you’d like to discuss your investment strategy for the year ahead.
May 2024 be a year of great joy and deep meaning for us all.
In faith and love,
Shawn
Services this month
Lives Lived – link
January 7th – Rev. Shawn Gauthier
In this strangely life-affirming service, we will look back on the lives of some of the famous and not-so-famous people who died in 2023, and whose lives changed our world in ways big and small.
The Great Good Place – link
January 14th – Rev. Shawn Gauthier
As the world around us becomes increasingly secularized, it’s fair to ask—and essential that we ask—what our congregation is really for.
The Unitarian Genome Project – link
January 21st – Rev. Shawn Gauthier
In this service, Rev. Shawn will put our tradition under the proverbial microscope. In this exploration of the Unitarian genotype, we’ll seek to understand what’s in our DNA.
Feeding the Fire of Intentions – link
January 28th- Vancouver Unitarians Lay Chaplains
Our Lay Chaplain team will lead us in a service honouring the Pagan tradition of Imbolc by reflecting on the meaning of spiritual growth.