MINISTER’S BLOG — Message by Rev. Teresa Curry —
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore” — Andre Gide, French author
Summertime, Summertime, Sum, sum Summertime – Those lyrics from a song long ago ring in my mind for this amazing month of June! What meaning does the word summertime hold for you? For me, it brings me back to thoughts of schooldays. I simply could not wait for the school year to be over so all the fun of summer could begin. In fact, the excitement probably started in the month of May. (I now feel so much empathy for all of the educators. They were trying desperately to get the last bit of information into the brains of students who had already checked out for the year. Thank you, God, for all of their dedication and endurance!)
Summertime meant a more relaxed schedule, staying up late, sleeping in, time at the beach, and sleepovers with friends. Perhaps it included vacations, traveling and just time to daydream and be. I recall a time with friends at summer camp at the YMCA. We created a skit for the talent show and won first place. We allowed ourselves to be immersed in this activity without forcing anything. We laughed, discovered, collaborated, and granted our imaginations the privilege of running wild with exuberance. It was simply part of our inherent nature at the time.
Unity’s co-founder, Charles Fillmore taught that each of us has a Divine Identity made up of spiritual qualities. The spiritual quality or power for the month of June is Imagination. Imagination is the ability to image, picture, conceptualize, envision, and dream.
Kute Blackson is featured in the May/June edition of the Daily Word. Kute is from Ghana and moved to the United States at age 18. He is an internationally recognized author and speaker. Elaine Meyer, editor of the Daily Word, interviewed him, and I recommend you give yourself the gift of reading the article. I share a piece of it that resonated with me:
Blackson stated: “You see, our dreams choose us. Our purpose chooses us because we are the perfect people to fulfill those dreams. But those dreams belong to the Divine, and we are simply the vehicles through which life is seeking to manifest those dreams and visions. All we have to do is say yes and get ourselves out of the way. I said yes. I came to the United States with a dream and a vision. What God can do through me, what life can do through me, what consciousness can do through me, is far greater than anything I can do of my own self. It’s been a path of trusting my soul.”
This reminded me of Dr.H. Emilie Cady’s great teaching. “Desire for anything is the thing itself in incipiency; that is, the thing you desire is not only for you but has already been started toward you out of the heart of God; it is the first approach of the thing itself striking you that makes you desire it or even think of it at all.”
Friends, what have you been dreaming of, picturing, imagining or conceptualizing? I invite you to honor it all. Let us take the time to have child-like wonder once again! Perhaps the question arises that asks, how do I know if it is God’s desire placed in my heart or just my ego or worldly conditions calling for my attention?
We take these questions into prayer and hold them up to the light of Truth. We allow this scripture to be our guide: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Imagination is a powerful capacity to be unlimited in our thinking and to be open to all possibilities. I invite us all to dare to dream, dare to imagine your best life now and envision a world that works for all. A world filled with love, peace and respect for all of humanity and our planet!
Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
Happy Summertime! And so, it is!
Abundant Blessings Always,
Rev. Teresa