We speak of things moving with glacial speed, the inch by inch pace of social change or changing a deeply-held habit. But while glaciers may not move rapidly, they reshape everything in their path as they go.
What slow process of change do you see in your life or the world around you?
If you could wash away the sands of time you might be able to see your roots—the things you learned in your earliest childhood, the teachings you gleaned from your parents and ancestors without ever being aware that you were learning.
What of your roots is visible to you at this moment?
There’s nothing so cute as a picture of a dog that’s befriended a rabbit, or a moose that is best friends with a cow. It warms the heart to think of love flourishing in unlikely places. But sometimes it is worth celebrating the ways in which we simply manage to peacefully share space with those who are near us: the neighbors or co-workers who we may not enjoy, but who have as much right to the rock as we.
How do you make space for people you don’t care for, or with whom you disagree?
Here’s a possibility. Maybe the day, your surroundings, the light and the air are simply glorious. And maybe you, yourself, are simply the most glorious thing in the whole fabulous situation. It just could be.
What in your life is glorious?
Generally people think of religion as, by definition, something that you take on faith. And indeed most religious questions aren’t subject to scientific testing—there isn’t an experiment that will prove or disprove the existence of God or an afterlife. And yet, our religious convictions are only really meaningful if they hold up in the context of our lives and our other beliefs, to the tests of whether they make sense and whether they help us to live better lives.
What religious beliefs have changed for you as you’ve tested them against your life and values?
