Last Tuesday was our final community day together.

It was a beautiful day, and we had a reflection time that involved walking through our city in silence. We were to take in the sights, sounds, and smells and reflect on our city and our community.

As I walked through the different parts of town -the neighborhood, the art district, the business district, and lower downtown- I thought about what made them different. What makes one part of town nicer than the other? What keeps the paint pristine in one part of town and peeling in another? Why is the sidewalk on this block smooth and flat while one block over it rises and falls, being reclaimed by weeds and grass?

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It seems to me that humans cannot exist anywhere without affecting their surroundings, for better or for worse.

There is no staying the same.

If we give our energies to something we can improve it or maintain it, but if we ignore it deterioration and decomposition sets in. It forces us to cultivate the things we care about. To weed our gardens and paint our walls. To dust our shelves and change the oil in our cars. To make phone calls to our friends and practice our instruments.

This year I’ve learned how directly this applies to my spiritual life.

My soul needs attention and nourishment; when I ignore it I can feel it in my heart, and I can see it in my relationships.

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As I walked along I thought about Denver, and I thought about my friends and family, and I thought about our nation and our world. What kinds of things are we cultivating? Are our words giving love and nourishment, or judgement and separation?

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If I have the gift of prophesy and can understand all mysteries and knowledge, and If I have faith enough to move the mountains, but have not love I am nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2)

nothing.

and being nothing is what leaves room for the ruin of the things we care about most.

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I pray that we would put our energies into the things that build up, heal, and reconcile. May our words and actions speak love and community into the world, because anything else tears down and separates.

-grace and peace