dominanefret

I am a Unitarian Universalist. Being a UU is, and always has been, one of the most important parts of my life.

The following are the principals and purposes of the Unitarian Church:
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote

* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
The living tradition which we share draws from many sources
* Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
* Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love;
* Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
* Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
* Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
* Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.


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I hold all of these principals very close to my heart, and I try to live my life by them.

A lot of people don't consider UUism a "real" religion because it doesn't have a creed and it doesn't have a god. A lot of other people think that it is just a branch of christianity, but it isn't. The bible and it's teachings are not intrinsic to being a UU. There are plenty of UU christians, just as there are UU Buddhists, UU Wiccans, "Jewnitarians", and like me UU atheists.

Some people like to say it is just a "social group" for liberals. But to me it is a lot more real than that. It is my religion and I love it and I love what it stands for and I love being a part of it.

I grew up in a place where most of the people I knew were UU. I went to a montessori school for elementary school. Most of the teachers at my school went to my church, and many of my class mates did too. The only friends that I had that I did anything with outside of school were UUs. This extended through all of high school. I can count on one hand the number of friends I had that I actually socialized with outside of school who weren't UU.

Because of this I grew up in a very liberal, very accepting, niche. I knew that the outside world was full of jerks, and prejudice, on a variety of levels, but it wasn't something I had directly come in contact with all that often. I could go to the March for Women's lives to support a cause I cared for and tell people that I felt they could NOT take away my reproductive rights, and the anti-protesters were there, but they were cordoned off in their little place away from us and I could just shake my head at them for just not getting it and I could scream at the mean telling them I don't think they have any right to tell me what I can do with my vagina. But it was always steps away.

It wasn't until the past year that I started socializing on a regular basis with people who weren't raised UU, and *shock* some of whom weren't even raised liberal. For the most part I have realized how good a lot of people are. Other times I have been shocked.

There is a guy at work who during my first shift said "fag" a couple of times. He works with me. I was really really offended. So I told my manager that it offends me, and he asked the kid to stop saying it. The guy actually didn't understand why it was not okay to use the word "fag." When my manager tried to explain to him that saying "fag" was just like saying "nigger" he didn't agree. It took awhile, but eventually my manager convinced the kid that he shouldn't say it.

I was absolutely shocked to learn that there were still people around who use "fag" in daily conversation. I had thought that all but the most backwards had stopped using it back in 1997.

I guess that the point of this is post is that I am just constantly amazed at how mean people can be to each other.

More than anything else I try to live my life by "respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person" and "justice, equity, and compassion in human relationships."

And to me that means giving people the benefit of the doubt. To me that means being aware that disagreeing with someone does not make them a bad person. To me that means that someone making a mistake does not make them a bad person. To me that means that conflict should be solved by discussion and not by the tossing of insults. To me it means being aware that people have emotions, and sometimes due to them, do not always mean what they say. To me it means not judging someone based on an emotion which cannot be helped. To me it means respecting people enough to know when to stop. To me it means being able to admit when you have treated someone unfairly.

I am not perfect. I make no claim to be.

Sometimes I really fuck up. Sometimes I say things that I don't mean to say. Sometimes I do things without thinking to thoroughly about their consequences.

But I try my hardest to realize when I have fucked up and admit to it and make amends for it.

It is really easy in life to do something without thinking about how it is going to affect someone else. Doing so doesn't make you a bad person. If anything it makes you human. What really shows strength of character is when someone can say "when I did ____ I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you. I am sorry. I really had no intention of hurting you and I really didn't want to."

I don't really know where I am going with this. I think I originally had a plan. I am just frustrated because I have to be awake for work in three hours. It is just really really hard for me to fall asleep when I am in a bad mood. My bad mood is magnified right now for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons are VERY silly, but some are perfectly reasonable. I just wish I could figure out something to make myself feel better.

Luckily I only work until 12, so I can come home and go to sleep.

And maybe after a nap I can have some conversations that I really need to have. Better to have those types of conversations after sleep, when one is in a more sane mood, eh?

I miss stellar. She is one of the best girls I know. I just know that talking to her would improve my mood greatly.

And Morgan is home, so hopefully I will get some time with her soon.

edited to add:
17 f is WAY WAY WAY too cold.

I got a second job.

and

Wow that was a long post. I'll be impressed if any of you actually read the entire thing.


P.S. now it is 16. That is WAY TOO FUCKING COLD. I disapprove of going directly from record highs to record lows.

I hate the cold. I think it is one of the worst feelings in the world. I would rather be hanging out in 96 than 16. Hell... I'd rather 106 than 16.

And cold makes me think of Robbie and makes me miss him. Sigh.