One of the things I love about our Unitarian Universalist faith is that it allows us, even encourages us, to gain insight and inspiration from a variety of sources. It values our own experiences of mystery and wonder. It says that we can find spiritual meaning not just from holy books, but from poetry and novels and conversations with friends. This summer, I found inspiration for today’s message in a most unlikely place: in a movie called “City Slickers.”
My daughter Julia and her husband
were going to a dude ranch in Idaho later in the summer, so I told them that we
all had to watch “City Slickers” together. It’s a story about 3 men living in
New York City who are all having a mid-life crisis. They decide that the cure
is to go on a cattle drive out west. Riding horses, roping steers, sleeping
under the stars. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you get the picture. With
Billy Crystal as the lead actor, you know that comedy ensues. But in the middle
of this mid-life crisis movie, I found a nugget of wisdom that I want to share
with you today. Let me set the scene for you:
Billy is riding with the boss of the
cattle drive. His name is Curly. Curly is a trail-weary and trail-wise man with
a heavily wrinkled face that reveals the miles he’s ridden. Curly has seen men
like Billy come and go, all in search of themselves. Curly has Billy’s number.
So he says to Billy, “You want to know the secret to life?” and of course Billy
anxiously says “Yes, please tell me.” So Curly looks at Billy. Then he holds up
his index finger and says “This. This is the secret to life.” And of course,
Billy jokes with Curly: “Your finger? Your finger is the secret to life?” And
Curly, in all seriousness, says, “It’s one thing. Just one thing.” And as you
would imagine, Billy says, “Okay. So, what’s the one thing?” And Curly says to
Billy, “Well, that’s for you to figure out.”
Oh man! We were so close to finding
the meaning of life! You wanted me to give you the answer. I know you did! Now,
I know that, in the story that Chrissy told us today that she said there are
three things we need to remember: that the most important time is now, the most
important person is the person we’re with, and the most important thing to do
is the thing that needs doing in the moment. And all that is true. But I want
to go even further and look at Curly’s “one thing.” Because we can all remember
this (holding up index finger).
I think what Curly was telling Billy
was that life is all about finding the one thing that gives life meaning. And
that that one thing is different for everybody. That Curly’s “one thing” wasn’t
going to be the same as Billy’s “one thing,” just like my “one thing” is going
to be different from your “one thing.” Curly was also telling Billy that no one
can tell us what our “one thing” is. And if someone tries to tell us what our
“one thing” is, it’s probably their “one thing” and not ours. We can only find
our own “one thing” by seeking it ourselves. We’ve got to take the journey to figure
it out. That doesn’t mean that we don’t ask others for help along the way –
people to point us in the right direction, or to give us water when we’re
thirsty or grilled cheese sandwiches when we’re hungry. But ultimately, we’re
the only ones who can discover and decide what our “one thing” is. Later in the
movie, Billy discovers his “one thing,” but you’ll have to watch the movie to
see what it is.
This whole idea of “one thing” is
particularly important these days. Because we’ve got so many things pulling us
in so many different directions. There are so many issues, so many concerns, so
many opportunities that are demanding our attention and our energies, sometimes
we feel like we don’t know which way to turn. It can all feel so overwhelming
and so discouraging. It can make us feel powerless and hopeless. Do we fight
for Climate justice or raising the minimum wage? Do we teach religious
education or work on the Capital Campaign? Am I going to sleep o
