A Year of Chalica

(I'm quickly learning that on a blog like this, it's difficult to come up with non-repetitive article introductions!  LOL)

This is a post that is filled with complicated emotions and revelatory experiences!  It is exposing a very vulnerable and private side of myself, and yet it feels so liberating to share!

Today began by taking my friend James Stover, who is visiting from Cleveland, to church with me.  It was very nice to have the company for a change, as I always go to church by myself.  I am always excited to show off my church, and my minister the Reverend Mark Belletini.  He is very well respected.  I was thrilled to wake up excited about going to church.  I have been very involved in my church over the past year teaching Sunday school, but it had actually been a couple of years since I had simply attended a Sunday church service.  This morning, I did not have to teach Sunday school, so I could fully participate in the service.

I was also excited about the prospect of the usual brunch with my friends from church, along with the opportunity to introduce my friend James to some of my church friends.  After brunch, I planned to return to Byzantium and finish my shopping for my Chalica necklace.  It was a day full of opportunity and rich and meaningful experiences.

To set this up, over the past couple of years, I had drifted away from my church due to some negative experiences I had had with some of the other members, and some events that had taken place that made me feel disconnected from my community.  I still loved my church, and many people in the community, but I hovered around the edges, teaching Sunday school and coming to committee meetings and social activities during the week, but avoiding the Sunday services and often the coffee hour after service.

Today is January 2, the second day of A Year of Chalica.

I started off the day doing a walking meditation on a temporary labyrinth set up at my church - The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, in Columbus, Ohio.  My friend Jim, who is visiting from Cleveland and staying with me at my house, came with me and walked the labyrinth also.  It was very peaceful and relaxing, but also challenging.  My friend Tina Thonnings was playing a saltery while people were walking.  It was very beautiful to have the music filling the big space of our worship hall.

When I first entered the labyrinth, I thought that I was walking slowly, about one step per second.  I quickly came upon a woman in front of me in the labyrinth who was walking so slowly, she was taking about one step every 5 seconds.  Each step, she would lift up one of her feet behind her like a flamingo and stand still for several seconds, balancing on one foot.  Then, she would slowly place the foot in front of her and lift the other foot up in the same manner.

At first, my mind became clouded with thoughts and frustration.  I tried to think how I could get around her without having to disturb her, or walk so quickly that my own meditative serenity was put out of balance.  While I was trying to weigh the options, I decided that I was simply giving the matter too much thought and letting it disturb my equilibrium too much.  I needed to listen to what the situation was telling me, and simply walk very slowly.  It was a challenge.  When you walk that slowly, it really is hard to keep a sense of moving forward, unless you have strength in your legs and a good sense of balance.  Of course, one of the purposes of meditation is to ground you in the present.  I found that having to concentrate on my balance really made me feel every step.  I became in tune with my body, as I could feel my muscles struggling in their weakness to maintain my balance.

The year-long holiday is divided into 7, 50 day sections, with each day being part of the holiday.  During each 50 day period, I plan to do at least one short-term project related to the period's principle, as well as a daily ritual.  Today is the first day of the year, and the first official day of A Year of Chalica, as well as the first day of the period for practicing the First Principle.

For the daily ritual, I am gravitating toward meditation and contemplation with the use of an object.  I am thinking about making a bracelet or necklace from a string of beads, similar to prayer beads.  I think it should have 7 larger beads and a number of smaller beads to represent the 7 principles and the days in between.  During meditation, I will hold the beads in my hand and perhaps recite a phrase for each bead, or simply remain silent.  Additionally, I will wear the jewelry throughout the day during the entire year.  I will post a picture when I have made the chain!

For my short-term project for the First Principle, I have been thinking about populations that are underserved and unappreciated, specifically, groups of people who are thought of as worthless in our society.  I thought mainly of two groups -- the homeless and those in our penitentiaries and jails.  I never have worked with the homeless, other than serving dinner one night at the YWCA family shelter.  I feel very tacky saying this, but I feel like the homeless are a cause celebre for so many people, such as Price William in England, who recently spent a night on the streets in London to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness.  Of course, people in need are people in need, and it is so irrelevant whether anyone is someone else's cause celebre when they are in need.

"The inherent worth and dignity of every person."

Is this about looking for commonalities in people with whom we disagree, or those who have hurt us?

Is this about helping those who are overlooked by others, such as in the parable of the Good Samaritan?  Other examples might be homeless people, people with AIDS, etc.

Is this about helping those who have actively harmed others, and recognizing that they still have inherent worth and dignity, despite their crimes?

What about recognizing and respecting our personal worth and dignity?  Must we start there first?  How do we treat ourselves with worth and dignity?

These are some of the ideas I have come across in my research on the topic, and some ideas I have had myself.  Of course, these ideas are not mutually exclusive.  Exploring the meaning behind the First Principle can lead to deeper understanding and to new ways to use the principle to guide us.