I am an anxious person. A worrier. I blow things way out of proportion. I’ve spent a lot of time living in the past and the future. Living too intensely.
Today, I am beginning to understand how my chattering mind has ruled me. I’m working on turning it away from imaginary threats, ghosts of the past (which doesn’t exist), and dire predictions about the future (which doesn’t exist either).
I’m trying to be here now with a shoutout to life’s simple things and an attitude of gratitude.
About two years ago, my husband, artist Don Perley, and I started attending Sunday services at our local Unitarian Universalist Congregation (UUC).
We were looking for spiritual connections and the opportunity to meet people with an expansive view of the world. People who believe in justice, equality, and community and are proud of it.
And, yes, we were seeking a new way to appreciate life’s simple things. The ease of weekly fellowship, a hot cup of terrific coffee after services, mingling with people of all ages and backgrounds, the occasional potluck.
Searching for Connection and a Bigger World View
But with services held in an old Gothic church, I wondered, as a non-religious Jewish woman, if this setting would make me uncomfortable.
Looking back over the past two years, I can say that I am at home among the UUC congregants and grateful that our minister is an eloquent and inspiring speaker. She reminds us that life is filled with small mysteries, that now is everything, and that the Earth’s beauty is a gift to humanity. She reminds us how incredibly lucky we are.
Please know that I am not proselytizing here. I just want to share a little about my (ongoing) journey toward emotional peace and offer some lovely music and writing that you may find comforting. A bit of life’s simple things.
The three songs I’ve included are from the UUC Singing the Living Tradition hymnal. (They’re followed by a fantastic quote by Norman Cousins.)
This first song, Come, Sing a Song with Me, was composed by Myrna Cohen and is one of my favorite hymns. This version of Come, Sing was recorded in 2020 when the world was dark with worry and despair.
The next song, Spirit of Life was written by Carolyn McDade and is sung by the Orange County Unitarian Universalist Choir. When I hear and sing it, my heart is filled with hope and love.
Beauty of the Earth is like a musical handbook of gratitude to our natural and human-made world, and I love that the video shows both city and country.
Life’s Simple Things Are Everywhere
I’d like to now introduce you to Norman Cousins if you are not familiar with him. For those who are, you may enjoy hearing his words again. Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate. I learned about Cousins when his book, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient, was published and changed medicine forever.
In describing his self-made therapy for a serious illness, he said, “I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep…”
It is from this book that I realized laughter could be medically therapeutic and, ultimately, gave me the idea for my blog.
I do not think it a coincidence that Cousins attended services at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, Ct. Although not a member, he donated its pulpit in memory of Albert Schweitzer.
Both Cousins’ and UUC principles revolve around the idea of interconnectedness. Perhaps he, too, was looking for life’s simple things. The following quote by Cousins addresses this idea and, while fighting pessimism about our world, I find it beautiful.
“I am a single cell in the body of four billion cells. The body is humankind. I am a single cell. My needs are individual, but they are not unique. I am interlocked with other human beings in the consequences of our actions, thoughts, and feelings.
“I will work for human unity and human peace; for a moral order in harmony with the order of the universe. Together we share the quest for a society of the whole equal to our needs, a society in which we need not live beneath our moral capacity, and in which justice has a life of its own.
“We are single cells in a body of four billion cells. The body is humankind.” —Norman Cousins, Human Options: An Autobiographical Notebook, 1981
Thanks for sharing. Better to be a human being than a human doing.
Thanks for sharing.
Staying in today is always very therapeutic.
I agree 100%. Let’s raise a glass to “today”!
The simple things also reminds me of the saying about the journey, not the destination.
But for me, joy can be found in the everyday things: its the perfect cup of tea outside in the morning sunshine or hearing the kids play at the corner preschool or listening to the church bells ring every hour or having my little feisty cat show her gentle side when she needs her morning cuddle.
Those are some of the things I truly appreciate on a regular basis.
So beautifully expressed! Once we get out of our heads and open our eyes, life gets a little better.
These videos were so lovely! I started my UU journey in Providence and I’m part of a UU Pagan congregation here. So glad you’re finding peace and fellowship. 🙂 My favorite song from that hymnal is Blue Boat Home, by Peter Mayer.
Blue Boat Home is my favorite as well! Three cheers for the UU! And thank you for reading.
Amy, I am so happy for you! You have found a place that gives you life’s simple things and where you can connect with people.