On this rainy Sunday afternoon, I find myself feeling especially grateful as I sit down to write. I’m so thankful for this amazing community and for each of you who make it what it is.
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge everyone who showed up this weekend to help with our cleanup as we prepare for the summer season. So much love and care went into the building and the grounds. There were folks tending the garden and the labyrinth, as well as the flower beds around the building. Inside, the floors were scrubbed; thank you, Michelle Neas, and what a difference that makes! The chair backs are now organized and fully stocked, and the seasonal decorations have been beautifully taken care of, thanks to Cali Crowley. I’m just so grateful for the many hands and hearts that made all of this possible.
Looking ahead, I’d like to share something special coming up. This year marks the 250th anniversary of our country, and on Sunday, July 5, we’ll be honoring that with a unique service that includes a Readers Theater. The script has seven parts, so if you feel called to be one of the readers, I would love for you to join in. There’s nothing to memorize, just a willingness to show up. We’ll have a short rehearsal on Sunday, June 28. If you’re interested, just reach out to me. The first seven people who respond will receive a part.
This past Sunday, my talk focused on the Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best.
What we explored together is that this agreement isn’t about perfection or pressure or trying to meet expectations. It’s really about presence, integrity, and self-love.
Your “best” is not something fixed. It shifts from moment to moment depending on your energy, your emotions, and what’s happening in your life. And when your best is honest and wholehearted, it is always enough.
Doing your best means showing up as you truly are not performing, not striving, not trying to prove anything. Just being real and present. We talked about how perfectionism is actually rooted in fear it pulls us away from our sense of worth rather than strengthening it.
When we genuinely do our best, something shifts. We let go of regret and self-judgment because we know we showed up with integrity. And doing our best doesn’t mean pushing ourselves to exhaustion, it includes resting when we need rest, setting boundaries, and caring for ourselves along the way.
This agreement gently moves us out of criticism and into compassion—both for ourselves and for others.
For this week, I invite you into a simple practice:
In the morning, just place your hand on your heart and remind yourself, “Today, doing my best is enough as it looks right now.”
Then, as you move through your day, simply do your best to show up with presence, honesty, and love in your actions, your choices, and your interactions.
At the end of the day, take a moment to reflect with kindness. Notice where you showed up fully and celebrate that. And in the moments where you feel you fell short, offer yourself grace. Tomorrow is always a new beginning.
If there’s one thing to carry with you this week, let it be this:
Choose presence over perfection — and allow your best to be enough.
As we come to the close of our journey through The Four Agreements, I want to invite you into something special next Sunday.
This final week isn’t about learning something new; it’s about bringing it all together.
Over these past weeks, we’ve explored powerful ideas being impeccable with our word, not taking things personally, not making assumptions, and always doing our best. But the truth is, these agreements were never meant to be a checklist to master. They are a living, breathing practice one we return to again and again, with gentleness and awareness.
This final gathering is about integration and embodiment.
It’s about noticing how these teachings are already moving through your life.
It’s about releasing the need to “get it right” and instead choosing to live with intention, compassion, and presence.
Together, we’ll explore what it means to:
- Practice without harshness;
- Come back to awareness when we forget;
- Recognize that true freedom isn’t something we achieve once…but something w.e choose moment by moment.
This will be a space of blessing forward honoring the journey we’ve taken and stepping into how we carry it into our daily lives.
If you’ve been walking this path with us, I hope you’ll join us to complete the circle. And if you’re just stepping in, you’ll be welcomed right where you are because this teaching begins fresh in every moment.
Come as you are. Come ready to listen inwardly. Come ready to remember that you always have the power to choose again.
Freedom is not far away; it lives in your next conscious choice. I would love to share this closing experience with you.
You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey
May 27, 2026
