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.
Who is your most surprising kin? Who is now in your circle of intimacy and interdependence that would have seemed unimaginable 10 years ago? How has this changed your understanding of kin? Is the distinction between a family of choice and a family of blood relevant to you?
What’s keeping you from your kin? What spiritual hurdle (secrets, jealousy, unresolved conflict, addiction, different choices, favoritism, not fitting in, etc) is getting in the way of you having the relationship you want with your immediate family? Have you given up on repairing that relationship? Are you sure you don’t want to try again?
Is kinship truly central to your spiritual practice? How is your spiritual life/practice about extending your circle of kinship? How would making it a core practice alter your understanding of the spiritual life?
Has it ever been dangerous to expand your circle of kin? When has welcoming someone into your circle of kinship required courage? Or sacrifice? What has been the cost of kinship for you?
Do you ever struggle with the call to extend your circle of kinship? UUs talk of interdependence with all. That’s easier to do intellectually than emotionally. Does “all of humanity” really feel like kin to you? Do animals? Do the generations that have come before or yet to come? Are you ok with that? Why or why not?
Have the responsibilities of kinship ever been too much for you? Rabbi Laurence Kushner writes, “If everything is connected to everything else, then everyone is ultimately responsible for everything.” Eugene V. Debs wrote, “While there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” What do you make of these challenging visions? Do they ask too much?
Has kinship ever saved you? Who offered you kinship at an unexpected moment? And how did that “save” or “transform” you? How has that altered or enriched your life?
Are there kinships you need to let go of? Not all kinships nourish. Is letting go or walking away from kin part of your current spiritual journey? Does it need to be?
Do you want a different role in your kinship circle? Do you feel constrained or misunderstood in your family, friend or spiritual circles?
What role does place play in creating kin? Where have your deepest kinships been formed? In the midst of family events? At church? In college? At work? While serving or working for justice along side others? During service in the armed forces or in the Peace Corps? Do you need to pay more attention to the role of place and context in your work of kinship?
Other? As always, if none of the above questions connect with you, identify your own.
Pax tecum,
RevWik