To deepen your own exploration of this month’s theme, here are some questions for you to consider.  Remember — don’t treat them like “homework.”  You don’t need to engage every single one.  Instead, simply look them over and find the one that “hooks” you most.  Then let it take you on a ride.   Allow it to regularly break into–and break open–your ordinary thoughts.  You might want to journal about your responses, and if you would like to talk with me don’t hesitate to be in touch.

1. What’s the best thing your child has inherited from you?  The worst?
2. What part of “bending the arc” have you “inherited”?  Social change takes time, many generations even.  This is what Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said that the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice; we all need to pick up where others leave off.  What justice-making, world-changing mission have you picked up from others?  What “little bend” are you trying to make?
3. Have you said thanks for your inheritance?  Knowing and being grateful for what you’ve inherited is one thing.  Thanking those who have passed on precious gifts is another.
4. Is your inheritance really to blame?  Who’s really responsible for our bad habits, our screwed-up reactions, and our silly choices?  Is it true that our lives would be better “if only we’d had better parents”? Is it true that our genes have doomed us to inevitable outcomes?  Have you ever used “inheritance” as an excuse to escape personal responsibility?
5. Have you forgiven your loved ones for what they inherited?  We’ve all been hurt, let down or wounded by parents, siblings or close friends.  We’re mad that they passed on or our burdened us with “their stuff.”  But someone likely passed on that “stuff” to them.  How’s that fit into the equation?  Is it possible they did the best they could given their negative inheritance?
6. Has a painful inheritance ever turned out to be a blessing in disguise?  Have you turned it into a blessing?  Have you found a way to turn your “burden” into something that has made you stronger?
7. Have you ever inherited a secret?  Would you like to “dis-inherit” it?
8. Is guilt something you’ve inherited?  Fear?  Distrust?  What have you learned about letting it go?  Do you need to ask someone for help in learning how to let it go?
9. Is there an inheritance you’d like to re-claim?  Maybe it’s your theist or Christian upbringing.  Maybe it’s your mom’s working class background.  Maybe it’s your cultural heritage.  Maybe it’s your dad’s practical jokes.  We’ve all got some aspect of our family or cultural past that we rejected or looked down upon.  But now, years later, maybe what we rejected is worth a second look, worth picking up again.  So, is there anything in your life asking for a second look?  A second chance?
10. How deeply have you tapped into your UU inheritance?
11. What’s the best thing you’ve inherited?  The worst?