I am a follower of Dewitt Jones. You may not know him but for years he was a photographer for National Geographic Magazine, author and film director and has a website called Celebrate What’s Right with the World. He posts some of his extraordinary photography along with a positive message. You probably picked that up just by his website title.
Many years ago, when we had a ministry in Virginia Beach, we had Dewitt come and he was wonderful. Now you are probably wondering where I am going with this and I am about to tell you. I want to celebrate what is right in the world of Unity Center for Spiritual Growth. This past Sunday we had the largest viewership to date. The reason for that is because you are sharing when watching our service. Keep up the good work!
I also want to celebrate the music Deana provided on Sunday. The comments from so many were to let us know how much you appreciated the selection of music as well as how much you appreciate Deana and her beautiful calm presence and soothing voice. These are just a few of the things that are right in our world. I invite you to take stock in your own life right now and celebrate what is right in your world.
Today is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Another thing to celebrate. On Sunday I dedicated the service to Earth Day. I applied Earth Care with our five basic principles.
1st Principle: “Oneness of All Creation” (One Presence & Power)
There is One Source of Life, absolutely good, all powerful, all knowing, All Spirit. Everywhere always in all Creation.
2nd Principle – “Being in Relationship” (Spark of divinity)
There is Absolute Awareness of perfect unity and relationship in every aspect of Creation. Human beings are conscious of this awareness.
3rd Principle – “Speaking Spirit to Spirit” (Law of Mind-Action)
All Creation emanates from One Source of Divine Mind. Thoughts held in mind reproduce in Kind.
4th Principle – “Befriending Silence” (Affirmative Prayer/the Silence)
Through affirmative prayer & meditation, separation from Creation is dissolved and Unity of Divine Mind is affirmed.
5th Principle – “The Flow of Life” (live the Truth we know)
Divine Mind transforms the Created World through each demonstration of Truth.
I did expand on each of these and you can hear that when you watch the service.
For the meditation I used an adapted version from Living in Balance: A Dynamic Approach for Creating Harmony and Wholeness in a Fragmented World by Joel & Michelle Levey.
I ended by a speech attributed to Chief Seattle in 1854:
The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land.
How can you buy or sell the sky, the land?
The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air or the spark of the water, then how can you buy them?
Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people; every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect.
All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. We know the sap that courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins.
We are a part of the Earth, and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle: these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and the man all belong to the same family.
“Will you teach your children what we have taught our children: that the Earth is our mother? What befalls the Earth, befalls all the sons of the Earth. This we know: The Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the Earth.
All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the Earth, he does to himself.
One thing we know: our God is also your God. The Earth is precious to him, and to harm the Earth is to heap contempt on its creator.
The complete message is in today’s video. You will hear the closing song that got so many comments. It is Colors of the Wind by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for the Walt Disney movie Pocahontas.
In celebration of Earth Day and in the kick-off of our Season for the Earth, Anna Ritchie and I have been chatting about our gardens this year. Anna has a vision and here is an excerpt from her email to me:
”…but I’ve been meaning to email you to see if we could do the gardens and potentially expand to be ‘victory garden-ish.’ Gardens feel safer than grocery stores right now 😉 and planting seeds is a message of hope and journey for a future, which I think we can all use.”
If you are interested in hearing more about the project and how you might be able to help, let me know and I will then set up a Zoom call for us all to vision and plan for feeding our own and others.
Have a great week… find things to celebrate and know you are not alone; we are in this together.
You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey
Labyrinths are ancient geometric figures. One leaves one’s worries and stress at the entrance and walks meditatively to the middle. As one walks to the center she/he becomes centered within her/himself, calmer, and more grounded. 
