Ever Becoming

Each year as December approaches I feel excitement about decorating for Christmas, both in the sanctuary at Unity Spiritual Center Denver and at my house. The bright red, silver and gold decorations add a celebratory energy to the spaces and enliven my spirit. I especially enjoy getting up in the morning, turning on the Christmas tree lights and having my cup of coffee sitting in their glow. The decorations and lights help me to connect with the magic, mystery and wonder of the season.

And, each year as the New Year approaches I feel dread when I think about taking down the tree, gathering all the decorations and putting them away. We did that this past Sunday after service at USCD. I felt a bit sad looking at the bare platform once the tree, poinsettias and crèche were removed. It was a foreboding of what I knew I would have to tackle at home.

In the past I have just “sucked it up” and tackled un-decorating without much introspection or contemplation. This year, however, I chose to be with my discomfort and question it, rather than just get the job done and move on. It turned out to be an opportunity for me to connect with and be reminded of some valuable lessons.

You may not be aware of this, but I like for things to be neat and orderly. I do not like messiness. J has often joked with me about how I don’t enjoy “process” because it can be messy. I often hesitate to start projects because I know that projects are processes that often require things to be a mess for a while. I recently realized that this is one reason I don’t cook more than I do. I don’t like dealing with the mess. When I do cook, I clean it up as quickly as possible. When I return from traveling, I cannot rest until my suitcase is unpacked and things are put away. I want to “git er done” and have everything neatly arranged and tidy. Order is very important to me, so when things are out of order or things are messy I feel anxious until order is restored.

I knew that I would miss having the lights in the morning, and I was not looking forward to the room seeming empty without the tree and decoration. The key, however, was identifying the Christmas cleanup project as a “process.” When I recognized that, I had more clarity. I knew that I would be creating a mess. Taking down the decorations and putting them away require things to be in disarray. I knew it would take some time to restore order.

In the process of taking down the Christmas tree and putting away the decorations, I connected with the value of what process can teach us. Process requires an intention for change. For anything to transition from one state to another, process is required. Process is rarely clean and orderly. Process often takes time. We can often learn a great deal through the process.

Process begins with a conscious intention for transformation. My intention on Monday was to return my living space to its pre-Christmas state. While I experienced some resistance, I recognized that my desire to have the decorations down and put away was stronger than my resistance. I was ready to move past the holiday season so that I could move into the next season.

To achieve that, I needed to remove the ornaments from the tree; gather the other decorations from around the house; bring the storage bins in from the garage; find a way to place it all securely in the bins; dismantle the Christmas tree; put in back in its box; and return the bins and the Christmas tree box to the storage locations in the garage and the basement.

Just the thought of all the mess and disorder I was about to create made me cringe and resist beginning the process. So, I strengthened my resolve with another cup of coffee and began. Once I started, the process went easily and smoothly. In fact, I was surprised when I finished and realized that it hadn’t take long to complete.

The process of clearing away the Christmas decorations reminded me that life itself is a continual process of change and transformation. We are constantly in the process of transitioning from one season of life to another. We are ever becoming and ever evolving. Sometimes the process is messy. Sometimes things are disorderly. Sometimes we feel anxious in the process.

Yet, when we have a clear intention for our lives, we can strengthen our resolve and allow ourselves to be with the process even though it may not always be pretty.

I am reminded of the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly. In the transformation process, the caterpillar completely dissolves inside the chrysalis so that the butterfly can form. I imagine that if the caterpillar was conscious of the messiness of the process it might be resistant.

Each of us is a butterfly, a being of unique and wondrous beauty, here to express the glory of the Divine. We are ever becoming and ever evolving into greater embodiments of who we have come here to be. We are meant to fly. We are meant to shine. We are meant to share our innate beauty with the world. When we are focused on that intention, we can trust that we are moving toward the evolution of our greatest unfolding, even in the messiness that change and transition often create.

As we move into 2017 and begin a new year, it is an opportune time for us to renew our intention to be all that God is in us. Unity cofounder, Charles Fillmore said that our mission is “to express all that [we] can imagine God to be.” We must ask ourselves if we are ready to accept that mission, both individually and collectively. Clarity of our mission is the first step toward setting a clear intention to fulfill it.

It means that we will go through a process; it will require transition. It may be messy and disorderly. But, what I know is that we must stay focused on our mission and move through transitions knowing that we are ever becoming all that we are here to be and do all that we are here to do in this community and in the world.

Join us on Sunday, January 8, as we explore together what it means for us to live our mission and embrace the process of ever becoming who we are here to be.