We have entered the season of darkness. It is no wonder to me that many of us humans in the northern hemisphere happen to celebrate “the holidays” when it is so dark out. As the darkness creeps in, we reach for the light– the light of candles, of colored bulbs, and of one another’s company. And this is also the time of year where people’s charitable giving is the highest. We reach out “to help” those who are in need. We work on teaching our children that Unitarian Universalists believe that we must help those who need it. If people are hungry, UUs believe we people should be fed.” Yes, we UUs need to help! And, growing up in my UU congregation, I picked up the message that UUs are always the “helpers” and never the ones in need of help. There is a distancing that can happen when we “help,” a distancing that allows us to believe that “we” are different from “them.” In a world organized by black and white, either/or thinking, how can we teach ourselves and our children that we are both those who help and those in need of help?

Blessings,

Rev. Darcy