It seems like everywhere we turn there is something else to fear; another reason to be anxious: the news or media posts, international events, a hurricane, a book title, actions of a local vandal, our health, the health of those we love, always an unexpected negative moment. You name it.

As one minister put it at our UU ministers meeting this week, “How are we to respond when the world’s on fire?”

Fear shuts us off from possibility and hope, love and life. Universalism orients our lives in relation to love rather than in reaction to fear. Rabbi Edwin Friedman said whatever is going on around us we need to be and can be [our own grounded] non-anxious presence. By facing our fears, we lead the way, change the system and bring more life and love and joy into each and every day.