Aug. 19, 2026

Solvitur ambulando./It is solved by walking.|
~somebody a long time ago
(often attributed to Diogenes the Cynic 
or Augustine of Hippo)

“I learn by going where I have to go.”
~Theodore Roethke, “The Waking”

“We are going…and we will get there…”
~#1020 Woyaya, Osibisa

Dear Ones,

I hesitate to articulate this (because I don’t want to get stuck in it, or resigned to it, or discouraged by it), but I think overwhelm is in many different ways a distinct feature of the world and the times in which we find ourselves–for some time now and, it seems likely, for some time to come. 

I feel encouraged by these ancient and modern writers who suggest that deliberate forward motion (which need not be literal walking) leads us to what we need. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by all the things already on my to-do lists (plural!), as well as by all the things that I feel/think I should be adding to those lists. Planning ahead is all well and good and often very necessary, but sometimes, maybe what is most needed, instead of checking things off the to-do list, is to keep moving with curiosity, attention, and willingness to learn. I suspect this (as with most true things) applies to both individuals and communities. Where and how are you moving, and what are you learning? Where are we moving? What might we learn?

Yours in faith and going,
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

P.S. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about creating worship for Unitarian Universalists, please consider participating in Worship Well, a new online (Zoom) program created by the UUA, designed to equip lay leaders with a variety of skills for leadership in worship. (More information here.) If you are interested, please let me know by noon tomorrow (Thur. 8/20), as we hope to assemble a team who will participate together.