Choreographer Martha Graham said, “the body never lies.” I wonder, how is your body dealing with your lies—the ones you tell yourself and the ones you tell others?

Honesty will always entail a risk, yet so does deception. Drawing from Harvard Negotiation Project authors Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, and their books “Difficult Conversations” and “Thanks for the Feedback,” we’ll explore how honesty works in community.

Honesty means telling the truth. Or does it? There are usually many sides to the same story, many truths to be considered. There are many kinds of honesty, too. Brutally honest, gently honest, and nuances in between.

Honesty can be used to harm or to heal. Perhaps truth is not the only measure. In relationships and in community, fear of being held accountable can deter people from being honest. Before speaking our truth, we might ask with compassion for self and others: “is it true, is it kind, is it necessary?”

Dr. King’s strong belief in the great importance of a solid education for creating a good life remains as relevant as ever for the well-being of our youth. Unfortunately, quality education for struggling African American scholars is just not happening in far too many cases.

Desire is a double-edged sword. Desire helps us focus, but when we get too single-minded, we cannot perceive the whole. Desire forges connection, but also powerful cravings.

Our gendered bodies are socialized to deal with desire’s power in different and sometimes destructive ways. Mark Epstein, psychiatrist and Buddhist practitioner, says “We must learn how to use desire instead of being used by it.”

Western religion has an uneasy relationship with desire. Yet desire is often what drives people to seek union with the divine.

Desire is what motivates us to seek meaning, find hope, and work for justice. How do we uncover the thirst behind the thirst, the hunger that can’t be satisfied, our deepest longings?

Can an ancient sacred story about the infilling of the Holy Spirit be useful to Unitarian Universalists? Without too much discomfort and suspension of disbelief? Without it being too much of a stretch?

What if a retelling through a new lens makes all the difference? What if the message of Pentecost really has been applicable all along?

The world and our work in it can sometimes feel hopeless. With music and poetry and inspirational leaders from the past as our guides, let’s explore how to seek child-like joy in present moments; how to embrace joy even in dark hours; and how to be compelled by joy to revolutionize ourselves and the world.

Our consumer choices impact people, earth and other beings in ways we may never know. But we do know that we live in a global village and everything is interconnected.Gandhi recognized those interconnections and the finite resources on earth. He suggested and chose to “live simply so that others may simply live.”

For those who are free to choose a simple life, what does it look like and how does it help those who are simply struggling to live?

There is nothing simple about simplicity. It takes practice to resist the wider culture’s values of materialism, status and over-commitment. It takes community to support our endeavors to simplify life, whether that involves letting go of possessions, activities, relationships or lifestyles that obscure what is most important.

What is most important? And how do we practice living from that source when life is so complex?

Clearing out the excesses of one’s life can paradoxically create abundance, allowing us to sink in to the deep essentials of human connection, natural beauty, and love.

In the closing Sunday of our two-service year, we will gather together to celebrate the simple beauty of life in our traditional multigenerational Flower Communion service. Remember to bring a flower with you to share during the ritual, but of course, we will have flowers available as well!