Waking up this morning I smile.

A full, fresh, new day is before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and look upon all beings with eyes of compassion.

These words have been with me since childhood, when I read a version of them in Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. Some mornings, I remember them before I open my eyes. Some mornings, I say them to myself in joy, already excited about the day ahead. Other days, when both sides of the bed are the wrong side, they are more of a plea.

To celebrate our monthly theme, Awakening, and the fact that April is National Poetry Month, I invite you to take a moment to pause and craft an answer to one or both of the following questions. (Bonus points if you can make your answer a 10-word poem.)

• How did you wake up this morning?
• How do you want to wake up tomorrow morning?

Our conveners for the month shared these responses:

• I hope to wake up to another good fun day.
• Anticipation of a smooth comfortable day for action with intention
• Too much. Let’s outline the review I need to write.
• Is it morning yet? Yes. But must I start right now?

Awakening can be a glorious slate-clearing epiphany. But sometimes our problems, challenges, and worries hang on, preventing us from feeling refreshed. This month we’ll explore what agency we have to move from fatigue into awakening. And we’ll celebrate the fact that sometimes we’re not in control: sometimes awakening comes out of the blue, not scheduled like the sunrise or the arrival of spring.

Our Christian neighbors celebrate Easter this month: a holiday commemorating the shocking reawakening of a community wracked by grief following the death of their rabbi. After seeing Jesus killed, they gave up their hope for his presence, friendship, and leadership. But he came back. My favorite interpretation of this supernatural story is that it represents the people’s realization that their community was stronger than their oppressive society. This holiday makes sense during spring, because spring always shows us that no matter how dead the world is, life returns.

So I hope, and expect, that sometime this month you will discover something glorious about our shared world, despite all the difficult news, and feel the need to celebrate it. I hope, and expect, that we’ll be celebrating a successful stewardship campaign and a satisfying Annual Meeting. Come, bring your wonder and your gratitude to our Easter Celebration and Potluck, April 17th. We’ll have a morning of regenerative poetry in the sanctuary while the Easter bunny hides the eggs, and then we’ll head outdoors for festivities. Adults are invited to join in on the egg hunt — read our RE column for the skinny.

We know there are challenges ahead, but this month, may we open our hearts to joy. Wake up, come out, and smile. Let the earth remind us of all that is good. Pause long enough to find delight.

In joy,

Pastor Isa

Contact Rev Dr Isabel Call at pastor@uufm.net.