Knowing this is a stress-filled time for us all, Rev. Leia and Linda offer this message we received from the President of our national UUA, Susan Frederick Gray, reflecting on frustrations and fatigue, worries and grief from so much loss, amid the current Omicron variant surge. Her words resonate with us:

“Sometimes it feels like every time we’ve got a plan and know what’s coming, things change. Having to change plans and wrestle with all the difficulty of the decisions we’ve been making for almost 2 years now. It’s a lot.

“At the UUA, right after the holidays, we shifted our building use back to essential staff only. We did this not just for the safety of our employees, but to reduce potential spread in Boston, to help protect the most vulnerable and do our part to try to reduce the burden on health care workers.

“Remember… to balance the very real differences in risk and risk-tolerance and the need to make choices that support the public good and the most vulnerable, while also attending to the mental health impacts that the stress and isolation of this virus create.

“Have compassion for yourself. And remember the values we named… – the importance of inclusion and consent, as well as flexibility and following the science. “And remember that laughter is also medicine.”