from Jane Everham

“Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the scared circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”

In the Black Forest of Pikes Peak region of Colorado, one finds oddly formed Ponderosa Pines that look to have suffered harsh winters, intense winds or even viruses. Turns out they are Ute Prayer Trees. Ute Prayer Trees (UPT) are a unique variety of culturally modified trees that were skillfully cultivated by the Ute Indians throughout much of Colorado.  They began modifying trees for navigational, medicinal, nutritional, educational, burial or spiritual purposes.  UPT can still be found today and are believed to have been cultivated between 150 – 450 years ago. The Ute, like many other Native Americans, believe all living things have a spirit and the majority of the UPTs discovered in El Paso, Teller and Custer Counties appear to point towards Pikes Peak and other sacred places of the Ute people.

“I think Ute Indian Prayer Trees are living Native American artifacts that offer us an intriguing link back in time to a deeply spiritual people with rich culture and long history in the Pikes Peak Region,” explains Anderson. *

Earth-centered traditions have been around as long as humans, thousands of years. And many different living traditions are offered for UUs to practice and incorporate into our faith, be it Pagan, Christian, Native American or more.

At the Western Unitarian Universalist Life Festival, the UU family camp at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, we have a tradition of celebrating the Solstice at Echo Amphitheater. Our Pagan UUs craft a ceremony which includes interfaith readings, we honor the Four Directions and the Earth Elements, a teacher from Albuquerque sings a heart-stopping Ave Maria into the echo canyon wall, and then everyone – all ages – dances, drums, waves ribbons, wands and engages in all kinds of spiritual joyousness. It is a complete religious and spiritual stew – a glorious stew honoring the earth.

Here in Northern Colorado, we have a vibrant land to protect. “We can’t make new rivers” said a recent Facebook post from the Save Our Poudre folks. Keeping earth-centered traditions alive in all forms is work we can engage in, especially on days when the news has us holding our heads crying, “What can we do?”  In a sermon back in June, Gretchen counseled us to stay alert to and embrace joy where we find it. If tending the earth physically, monetarily, or politically brings you joy then dig in and get your hands dirty, or pull out your wallet, or put pen to paper with a rousing Letter to the Editor. Our natural environment needs our ongoing service and our Sixth Source of Earth-centered tradition calls us to keep up the effort.

This is the last Blog in my series on our Six UU Sources – there are surely other perspectives on these Sources, and you are invited to join the Foothills Bloggers and share yours. All Six UU Sources acknowledge the gifts we have received from other faiths, voices, and traditions. It is up to us to honor them and make them vibrant in gratitude. We hear every week that our worship is on Sunday, but our service is every day, and we continue to respond.

Blessed be.

*Culturally Modified Ute Prayer Trees by John W, Anderson – A side note, the La Foret Retreat Center often visited by UUs is in this Black Forest with its Ute Prayer Trees. Some of you may remember seeing these peculiar trees.

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.

from Jane Everham

“Humanist teachings that counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.”

UUs read, study, learn, talk, debate, discuss, argue, challenge, question, interview, interrogate, deliberate – am I repeating myself? Yep, we do that, too. We are intellectual creatures and attend to our heads (sometimes more than our hearts), but it takes both to be a good UU, a good steward of the earth, a good human.

The 5^th Source teaches us that in our UU faith, we maintain and nurture our respect for facts. We embrace reason as a verb, “to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic”- a key difference between reason and idolatry.

Idolatries of the mind and dogma offer a framework that may give followers an easy out from intellectual responsibility. Some people like being told what to believe because then they don’t have to think, wrestle with complex issues, and make tough decisions. Like climate change, for example – if you don’t believe in climate change you have no responsibility for thinking about or trying to solve such an overwhelming global issue. But climate change is based on scientific facts – you don’t believe in facts, you believe facts, or not.

UUs have an aversion to creeds and dogma, but our faith’s commitment to science and reason can serve to guide us in living ecologically, socially, and call us to engage in working through the messy challenges of the democratic way. As a longtime member of Foothills, I have witnessed and been officially engaged (once as President of the Board of Trustees) in events that have “rocked our boat,” but I stand proud of a congregation that is not afraid to stand up to a challenge and do the hard work required to resolve, mend, and move on.

I am so grateful for this covenantal faith that calls me to live the Seven Principles guided by our Six Sources – a strong foundation for both heart and mind. I hope this 5^th Source’s call to “heed the warning against the idolatries of mind and spirit” keeps us humble. This UU faith is not the one, true faith for all, it is just the one, true faith for UUs. Other faiths, including Humanism, have revealed truths and actions that serve the common good, truths that we have adopted as our own. I love that UUs know and embrace that “the Truth is always being revealed.”  We are a “living tradition” continually learning and evolving. Let us continue to use our voices and our actions as example for others for the betterment of our world. And let’s not be afraid to be big and loud!

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.

from Jane Everham

“Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

This Golden Rule teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves. I’ve always struggled with this Rule because I see too many people not loving themselves very well – being doormats, self-deprecating, or callous. I don’t want to be loved in the manner some people, even friends, treat themselves. Rev. Sean Neil-Barron preached “The Platinum Rule” last fall: Love your neighbor as your neighbor would like to be loved. A subtle, but significant difference because the Platinum Rule requires one to get to know the person to be loved. It may also require one to love in an uncomfortable manner – something I recently experienced.

My best friend lost her partner of 29 years. He was in declining health for several years and in the last two years required a tremendous amount of vigilance, care, energy, focus and sacrifice. In the last year my friend was exhausted, her sleep was constantly disrupted, and her personal goals were shelved as her life was limited to his care. In her exhaustion, she fantasized what she would do when he passed.

“I’m going to travel. I’ll sell the house, move closer to family, get a small apartment, and I will travel.”

Then he passed. Oddly, he went to the hospital in crisis, but rallied. Very early in the morning, he woke up and told the nurse he felt better then he had in days and hoped to be released later that day. The nurse left his room, and ten minutes later he died.

When you know something is going to happen, and on some heartbreaking level you are hoping it will happen, and then it suddenly does – it can still be a shock. At least that is what happened to my friend: “I wasn’t at his side. I didn’t get to say good-bye.”

She told me these things months later when she finally agreed I could visit her. Initially she went silent for weeks and was very unreceptive to communication from family and friends. “I can’t stop crying. I miss him.” she explained.  Telling her it didn’t matter if she cried, that I could handle her crying, did no good. “It matters to me,” she said.

Every suggestion that she visit, travel, (You always said you wanted to go to Italy – let’s go!) or make plans for moving on was met with a flat, well-boundaried, “I’m not ready.”

Her needs confounded me. Loving her in the way she wished to be loved meant doing nothing,  felt helpless, and resulted in impatiently waiting – for months. I had been ready to cancel everything; to visit, travel with her, or help her sell her house, move, and get newly established. But all was verboten.

Eventually, she said I could call her, then visit, and  FINALLY – nine months later, she visited me. She is doing much better though she still insists that “I’m  not ready” for much more of life yet. “I’ll let you know when I am ready to get on with my life.” Seeing her progress helps, but the experience of loving my friend as she wished to be loved was a very difficult life lesson. I’m an Enneagram Two, The Helper – we need to help!

Nevertheless, I did it. I refrained from being “help strikes again,” which is just what my friend dreaded. She needed to control her world and keeping  others at bay worked for her. I needed to trust that she knew herself and her needs. In the end, I was able to do my part in letting her heal in her way, not my way. Today, our friendship endures, and is possibly stronger. Maybe I am even a better friend now.

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.