“We pray for any among us who have not yet discovered
our own power to bless the world.
We pray to find the courage and grace
to move one step closer to healing, and to the sacred potential of our lives.
We pray for strength, grateful for all that is not lost,
for the ever-renewing powers of life,
for our chance to play our part in this life
we have been given to share with one another.”
-John and Sarah Gibb Milspaugh

Find the courage and grace to move closer to healing today.

“Grant us a measure of your…peace; fill us, each, with hope and good cheer; and grant that each one be surrounded by [love, and]… we pray that you speak a word of encouragement and grace to every human heart.”
-Tom Schade

What encouragement does your heart need to hear today? How can you find that?

“O God, your love is unimposing
Yet firm and steadfast,
Present to all those who would know your peace.
You challenge me in my arrogance and
Move me to listen deeply when I fail—
As I always do—to see the fuller picture.”
-Alex Jensen

Listen deeply today to learn what you need to forgive and be forgiven. What is it you need to hear?

“The prayer of our souls is a petition for persistence; not for the one good deed, or single thought, but deed on deed, and thought on thought, until day calling unto day shall make a life worth living.” -W.E.B. DuBois

What is the prayer of your soul persisting in order to do? How are you called to make a life worth living?

Prayers can also be doorways to different states of being, such as the ecstatic union with God felt by some mystics or the overwhelming feeling of the divine everywhere described by transcendentalists.

Have you ever felt that your being was one with a larger entity, a holiness that some might call God? What gave you that feeling?

“May we call forth from each other vitality and tenacity.
May love rest in us. May justice live through us.
May we have the touch to call others back
to life and love, justice and peace.
May we sing back their songs, and add the alleluias.”
-Paul Beedle

How and where does love rest in you today?

“Hold me accountable so I may bring honor to you,
amplify love and compassion to those around me,
and make the way easier for those yet to come.
I ask this because you are mine
and I am yours.
You live in me
and I live in you.
Amen.”
-Tandi Rogers

What values and actions do you need to be held accountable to and for?

“God of many names,
you who have searched what is hidden within us
and who knows us to our core:
Our intentions, our wounds, our aspirations and our dreams.
You who is familiar with all our ways,
even before a word is on our tongue
you know it completely.
Where can we go from your Spirit?”
-Tamara Lebak

What are the intentions you need to be made known today? How can a practice of prayer help you set those intentions for yourself?

For many people, the practice of prayer is as important as the content of prayers. Spending time intentionally connecting with a force greater than yourself is a powerful way to remind us of our spiritual beings.

Practice prayer several times today. How does pausing for prayer change you?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Each living thing gives its life to the beauty of all life, and that gift is its prayer.”
-Douglas Wood

How do you add to the beauty of the world?

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“Spirit of Life, God of Love, I am entwined in your delicate web of mutuality. The life energy that makes me reach for the sun also moves me to become wrapped, like the strong bittersweet vine and the delicate sweet pea, around those I meet and love. Here in the tangle of my daily life I feel your pulse and sense what it means to be alive. Here, twisted and knotted, I thrive, seeking the light that will pull from me the fragrant blossom of love. Spirit of Life, help me to experience the beauty of your interwoven and intricate web, that I might always embrace, without reserve, all those whom my life touches.”
-Stephen M. Shick

What do you feel connected to today? How can you more fully experience that connection?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Come now, all who are thirsty and burned
Come to the place where cool waters and aloe
Soothe your bedraggled soul
Drink your fill and salve your skin
Then fill your canteen and return once more to the struggle
Knowing the well will remain unobstructed
-Lindasusan Ulrich, from “Begin Your Journey Home”

How can you soothe your bedraggled soul today? What is the balm that your spirit needs to recover?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“The pecan trees and their kin show a capacity for concerted action, for unity of purpose that transcends the individual trees. They ensure somehow that all stand together and thus survive. How they do so is still elusive.”
-Robin Wall Kimmerer

How can you show solidarity with other beings today? How can you understand a unity of purpose with others?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

As surely as we belong to the universe
we belong together.
We join here to transcend the isolated self,
to reconnect,
to know ourselves to be at home,
here on earth, under the stars,
linked with each other.
-Margaret Keip

Where is it that you find a sense of belonging and connection to others?

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Fresh bread is something of a tiny miracle. Or maybe just a marvel. Born from simple ingredients and careful technique, it emerges from the oven steaming and scented and ready to provide sustenance.

What are the marvels and tiny miracles of your day?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Our hope does not live in some glimmer of an indistinct future.
Rather, we know the way to the world of which we dream,
and by covenant and the movement forward of one right action
and the next, we know that one day we will arrive at home.
-Theresa Ninán Soto, from “We Hold Hope Close”

Where does your hope live today?

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Ivy creeps its way up a brick wall, sending out hairy tendrils that stick to any roughness in the surface. It branches out and grows longer. Slowly, it covers the wall with its lushness.

How can you send out tendrils of spirit to move yourself forward today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

A reading to repeat a few times throughout your day:

To the refugee family seeking a safe place
For their children’s dreams, say:
I am with you in this.

To the trans teenager longing for a world
That accepts them for who they are, say:
I am with you in this.

To the black parents wondering when
Will the lives of their children truly matter, say:
I am with you in this.

To the lonely, the frightened, the dispossessed, say:
I am with you in this.

To the bullied, the battered, the broken down, say:
I am with you in this.

To the hungry and the homeless,
To the silenced and the shamed,
To the weary and the worried, say:
I am with you in this.

To all those for whom your
Disheveled heart is aching, say:
I am with you in this.
-Philip Lund

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Today, a body meditation from Kathy Underwood, to the words of Gandhi. Do what of it you are able to do and what brings you peace and joy.

I offer you peace (arms outstretched in front of you with palms facing up)
I offer you friendship (arms outstretch in front of you with hands clasped)
I offer you love (arms crossed over chest)
I see your beauty (touch eyes)
I hear your needs (touch ears)
I feel your feelings (hands touch chest)
My wisdom comes from a higher source (arms reach up, palms facing up)
I honor that source in you (arms outstretched in front of you, palms facing up)
Let us work together (arms outstretched in front of you, hands clasped)

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.” -Kahlil Gibran

However your body experiences music, spend some time with it today. Feel the rhythm, move your arms, sway in time, hum or sing, or listen to the words of a song that connects you to something beyond yourself.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Today is the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Many people around the world feel the trauma of this day in their bodies and hearts.

Many people, every day, carry pain from trauma with them. It is important to be gentle and kind with this pain. You did not cause it. You do not deserve it.

How can you be gentle and kind to yourself today? How can you recognize and honor the pain you are feeling?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is often celebrated with apples and honey, for a “sweet new year.” It is seen as a blessing to be able to partake in sweetness, and it evokes gratitude.

How can you bring sweetness into your life today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the shofar, a horn made from a ram’s horn, is blown in synagogues around the world. It calls people to attention and wakes them up to the spiritual work that needs to be done to greet the new year.

What is the spiritual work you have to do? How can you wake yourself up to it?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

In recent weeks, millions of people around the world have been displaced from their homes because of storms, floods, fires, and wars. We hold them in our hearts and together work for their survival.

What is displacing you from solid spiritual ground today? How can you find a stable place to recover?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Home” means many different things to different people. For some, it is a place of safety. For others, is is a place of pain and trauma. For some, it is a reliable place to turn, and for others it is a place that exists in longing, unattainable in the present.

What does “home” mean to you? How has this meaning influenced your spiritual path?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Sometimes, something originally intended for one use finds purpose and possibility as something else.

How can you repurpose something today?

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Smooth, rough, soft, prickly. The delicate fuzz of a ripe peach, the rough surface of a concrete sidewalk, the comforting softness of your favorite t-shirt. What are the textures you feel today?

Notice texture throughout your day today.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Molten glass is briefly able to be blown and shaped before it cools into a fragile solid. The glassblower applies heat and air to change and move the glass in the ways they want it.

How might you make yourself more able to change and move today?

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Flour, water, yeast, a pinch of salt, time and heat. Perhaps a pinch of sugar or a tiny bit of oil. Maybe some seeds or grains or something fancy. The dough holds possibilities, and the bread it makes can nourish us.

What can you make out of simple things to feed your spirit today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen not clouds but a whale, or a rabbit, or a boat sailing by? Our imagination, when combined with the miracle and beauty of clouds, can be a wondrous thing.

What shapes do you see in the clouds today? How can they spark your imagination and creative process?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

The potter learns to center their clay on the wheel. It is an exacting task, and unlike in life, there is little grace–if a piece becomes too off-centered, clay might fly around the studio. And yet, it is a basic and necessary task for wheel-thrown pottery.

How can you notice the things in your life pulling you out of center? How can you center yourself today?

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The heat, the hammer, the anvil, the steam, the sweat, the glow. Metal is forged into useful and beautiful objects by careful application of force and intense heat.

How has your life been made more beautiful in times of intensity?

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Decomposition transforms death and detritus into nourishment for other beings. It breaks down unusable structures and leaves behind rich, vibrant, healthy soil in which other things can grow.

How can you transform something ugly or toxic into something nourishing today?

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“For me, that my people became, created, and imagined from a position of unfreedom is a source of deep pride, not shame… What better evidence of human beauty and resilience could there be?”
-Imani Perry, from Breathe: A Letter to My Sons (p. 21)

Look for evidence of human beauty and resilience today. In yourself. In your ancestors. In the world around you.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Pleasure reminds us to enjoy being alive and on purpose… Pleasure—embodied, connected pleasure—is one of the way we know when we are free. That we are always free. That we always have the power to co-create the world. Pleasure helps us move through the times that are unfair, through grief and loneliness, through the terror of genocide, or days when the demands are just overwhelming. Pleasure heals the places where our hearts and spirit get wounded. Pleasure reminds us that even in the dark, we are alive. Pleasure is a medicine for the suffering that is absolutely promised in life… Pleasure is the point. Feeling good is not frivolous, it is freedom.”
-adrienne maree brown, from Pleasure Activism, pp. 437-8, 441.

Do something today that gives you pleasure. Derive pleasure on purpose. Know that you deserve it.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Today’s meditation is from Tim Atkins, who writes:

The process matters more than the product: this is a universal truth in art and creativity, and it transcends every artistic medium, from architecture to YouTube videos. No matter what form the art takes in the end, no matter what artistic medium you use, the process of making that art changes who you are, as a person. How we’re changed differs from person to person, but we are fundamentally changed by embracing our creativity—no matter our creative outlet.

May we all take the time to fully immerse in our creative potential, no matter the medium. May we all be reminded that the process matters, not just the final outcome.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Caitlin Breedlove writes, “If we drain ourselves…, we don’t have what that takes [to create]. If we drain other[s]… of time and energy… we should not be surprised when they don’t have the power to create.

How do you refill your energy to create? How do you keep yourselves from being drained?

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“Ancient Hebrew tradition says that before the Earth was created, the world was a wild ocean full of dangerous sea monsters. Our world may sometimes feel like a wild ocean. We may feel like we are fighting against impossibly strong sea monsters.

“But the waters are as mighty and powerful as the sea monsters, and that power runs in and through us, with each breath…in and out.

“As we breathe, may we feel the rhythm of our breath, like the powerful waves crashing on the shores, turning and tumbling the largest boulders into the tiniest grains of sand.” -Rev. Israel Buffardi

Breathe in, breathe out. Harness the mighty power of the ocean to face the day.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Where will you pause to touch the Earth? Where will you marvel at the hints that lie scattered around you in the grass? Where will you discard what you previously thought was true, and try on a new belief for size? Where will you stop for directions, for advice, for a conversation with another, for a relationship, for a moment of grace brought to you by the mind of a child?

What does it mean to you to persist through difficult times on your journey?

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We each bring to our various relationships a tendency to see what we know, or maybe what we want.  And that doesn’t serve anyone particularly well.

And so, Karen Armstrong counsels us to come to terms with how little we know if we have any shot at living a compassionate life.

There’s a lot I don’t know. And in order to truly develop compassion, I need to make peace with that, and to start finding out what others know that I don’t.

Make a list of a few of the things you don’t know. Be OK with it.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Listening is not an act of the ear, listening is an act of the heart.” – Rev. Leslie Takahashi

To what is your heart listening today? To what does your heart need to listen today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Artists of all kinds—painters and poets, singers and sculptors alike—know the importance of imagination.  On the basis of art alone, we understand that imagination adds beauty of all sorts to our world.  At the very least, we can appreciate that other people’s imagination makes our world a more interesting and lovely place.

But our own imagination is a vital spiritual resource.  First, imagination helps us interact with the world around us in new and wonderful ways.

Transcendentalist philosopher and Unitarian minister Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us of this power of imagination.  “A symbol,” he writes in his essay “Poetry and Imagination,” “always stimulates the intellect, therefore is poetry ever the best reading.”

We each were born with the powers of creativity.  While we’re not all going to be famous artists or poets or musicians, we each have the faculties to use our imagination to create.

To use these gifts allows us to change our relationship with the world around us.

Today, spend some time imagining.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We all have the power to create. To create beauty, to create goodness, to create justice, to create a better world. With each action, we choose what we would like to create. We choose how we would like to participate in the co-creation of our world.

How will you create today? Who or what are you going to create with?

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Like a building inspector, we must probe for structural flaws that have undermined our integrity and the integrity of our institutions. And then, we uncover them and repair them. It is hard work. It is necessary work.

Where do you notice cracks in the foundation of values that support you?

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“Let us have the wisdom to lovingly have the conversations we need to have with each other, that we must have with each other, in order to grow this faith in radical love and inclusion.” -Viola Abbitt

What are the conversations you need to have with others today? What are the conversations that have to happen in order to to tell or hear hard and necessary truths?

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The gift of presence to another person–of pure, sacred witness to their being, their struggles, and their joys–is a profound gift that we can give and receive. Pastoral presence is the basis of much of the care provided by spiritual leaders–deep listening without responding or reacting.

Practice presence with someone else today. Simply be present to them.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

For many people around the world, the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be separated from the distance we have had to keep from others. For some, this has been a comforting distance. For others, it has been excruciating. Whatever your experience of this time and this distance, we invite you to spend some time today being mindful of the ways in which distance has appeared in your life this past year.

How can distance keep you safe? How has it made you vulnerable?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Today, we invite you to touch yourself with love and compassion. If you are able and it feels good to you, wrap your arms around your body. Our blessing is from Lisa Bovee-Kemper:

May you be blessed on your journey. May you remember that growth happens on the journey and that you are never alone. May you always remember that you are a whole person, that each of these parts work together. We offer our blessings upon you, body, mind and spirit. May you be guided by compassion and truth, justice and love. May you find rest on the journey, always remembering where you came from, being mindful that your ancestors stand behind you, whether we are present on earth or have gone back to the Soul of the World. May you be blessed in all things and carry blessings with you wherever you go.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Being human is sometimes hard work. It is sometimes toil to grow, to create justice, to cultivate goodwill and kindness.

What is the work you have to do today? Can it be a spiritual practice?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Look at your hands. They’ve been through a lot, those hands; they have strengths, scars, [and] beauty. I invite you to remember that it is your hands that do the work of love in the world. These hands may hold another’s hands. These hands may type emails to politicians, sign cards of consolation and congratulation. These hands may patiently teach, quilt works of beauty or write words urging peace. These hands may bathe children, feed elders, nurse the ill, work the earth, organize communities. These hands clasp in prayer, open in release, grasp in solidarity, clench in righteous anger. These hands are God’s hands, your hands, our hands; a great mystery of flesh and intention, a great potential of embodied love.” -Christine Robinson

What can your hands do to embody love?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Inspiration.  Respiration.  Spirit.  It is natural to connect a theology of spirit with the breath. With the breath that we feel move in and out of us. With the breath that we focus on in meditation practices. With the breath that carries life-sustaining oxygen to our body, and expels the carbon dioxide that would otherwise be toxic to our cells. With the breath that connects me to you, you to the person next to you, and them to people beyond them, and so on and so on, until all of the beings of the world find themselves in an interconnected web of breath, of spirit, of being.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Feel with each breath your connection to something greater than yourself.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We, in our various forms and abilities, are physical creatures. We are bodies and our bodies participate in making sense of the world and making our place in the world. We, in our various forms and abilities, can use our bodies to support the values we claim or to counter them.

What are the values you wish to embody?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

On the last Monday in May, the United States observes Memorial Day, a day to pay tribute to those who have died in war.

How can you create peace to honor the memory of those who have died in war?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

How does your faith call you to dismantle systems of oppression? What is one thing you can do today to move towards that goal?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

How do you practice accountability in your relationships with others who have less institutional power than you do?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

What does being in a web of interdependent relationships mean for your life?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

In your actions today, take into account your connection to other beings in our world. How does that focus change how you act?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

What rights are most important to you? How do you help others secure those rights?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

How can you be an instrument of real peace in the world?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

What does it mean that we seek a community that spans national boundaries and cultural differences? How do we create such a community that also exercises equitable power?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in society at large.

Exercise your conscience as a spiritual practice. Write a letter or make a call to a government or UN official. Ask them to represent you in a way that makes real your values in the world.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

How do you exercise responsibility in your spiritual practice?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

What does freedom mean to you? What does liberation mean to you? How do you make liberation real?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.

Make a connection across a barrier of difference today.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

Notice someone who is struggling today. Maybe it’s yourself. Offer them compassion.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

Listen to someone tell you their truth today. Let it change your being and your mind.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

What is your dream of justice?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Can you recognize the dignity of another person today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

We…covenant to affirm and promote…the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

How is your life changed knowing that you are worthy?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

On May 12, 1961, the union of Universalism and Unitarianism in the US took effect with the creation of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Daily Compass meditations are brought to you by the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship, and we invite you to spend some time reflecting on the spiritual gifts of the current and proposed principles of Unitarian Universalist congregations this month as we celebrate union.

How have you learned from your history? How do you use that knowledge to move forward?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Around the world, the month-long Muslim observance of Ramadan comes to an end today with Eid-al-Fitr, the breaking of the fast. Those who observe this day will give to assist the poor and reflect on the spiritual lessons of Ramadan that have taught them of the greatness of God.

How does your faith call you to help others?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Norbert Čapek, 20th Century Czech Unitarian minister, developed the Flower Festival as a way to recognize that like a bouquet of flowers, each of us brings a different sort of beauty and a different perspective to our community. Here is his prayer over the flowers:

“Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these, thy messengers of fellowship and love. May they remind us, amid diversities of knowledge and of gifts, to be one in desire and affection and devotion to thy holy will. May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing alike. May we cherish friendship as one of thy most precious gifts. May we not let awareness of another’s talents discourage us, or sully our relationship, but may we realize that whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed to do thy work in this world.”

Notice and appreciate the beauty in the differences you see in others today.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

William Ellery Channing believed that we were called as humans to practice self-culture, the care and growth of the self. He likened it to agriculture, the care and growth of carefully-selected crops. While Channing’s focus on how to grow has not held up well through the years, the idea that each of us deserves the right conditions to foster our growth has.

What are ways you would like to grow? What are the conditions you would need to exhibit that growth?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Today let us think about the people in our lives–of all genders and relationships to us–who have nurtured us. Those who loved us in difficult times. Those who sat with us through our worst. Those who encouraged us to be better people, and who guided us in that task.

Who are the people who have nurtured you? Hold them in your heart throughout the day.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

The union of two people or two entities requires negotiation. The best negotiations don’t get mired in positions, but instead focus on needs and values. Each party must be able to articulate their values and state their needs; each party must be able to say how they will help meet the needs of the other. Sometimes, sacrifices are made. Sometimes, synergy is developed.

How can you make your needs and values known to others today in generative ways?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

When two roads or tracks merge, care must be taken by everyone approaching the merge point. In a car, merges work best when people take turns. It is necessary to watch out for others and good practice to use courtesy and compassion.

Notice where your pathway intersects with others today. How are you treating them at those merges?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“It is the intimacy of steel melting
into steel, the fire of your individual
passion to take hold of ourselves
that makes sculpture of your lives,
builds buildings.”

-Cherríe Moraga, from her poem “The Welder”

Notice today where your heart is creating the heat necessary to make a sculpture of your life.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Marriage is only one of the possible times when people make vows to one another. Some of us have been sworn to tell the whole truth in court, others have been asked to take an oath upon assuming a new position of public trust, and yet others have made a sacred promise to a religious community. Each of these vows changes our behavior by asking us to see ourselves as something beyond ourselves.

What are the vows you would make today to yourself? What are the vows you would make to all of humanity?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

When we add one thing to another, both of those things are changed, sometimes irreversibly. The addition of “and” in a logical query changes it entirely–replacing “or” with “and” even more so.

How can you change an “or” to an “and” in your life today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

This month, we explore the many meanings of “union.” Intersections. Interdependence. Covenant. Joining thing or beings together in a meaningful way. Each of us can experience that sort of connection in our everyday lives–union with the spirit, union with nature, union with the sacred, union with a community.

How do you experience union with things beyond yourself today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice is Beltane, an ancient Gaelic holiday that marks the time when pastures have grown enough to support the livestock again. Sacred bonfires burn to bless the fields and animals with their smoke. In the Northern Hemisphere, this happens on or around May 1.

What sacred fires burn in your spirit today? What are they blessing the beginning of?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

International Worker’s Day, May 1, reminds us of the common struggle of labor around the world, and of the need to organize our power to demand that all are treated with dignity and respect.

How are you making common cause with others today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

In the busyness and hubbub of our world, the practice of stillness can be countercultural. And yet, sometimes in those moments of stillness we notice things that we cannot when we are in constant motion.

Find a moment of stillness today. Sit with yourself. What do you notice? Where do you feel grace?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“In the midst of a world marked by tragedy and beauty, there must be those who bear witness against unnecessary destruction and who, with faith, rise and lead in freedom, with grace and power.” -Rebecca Parker

How can you bear witness against the destruction of the world? How can you lead with grace?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…”

When has your life been turned around by an unearned blessing?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Our journeys are not solitary, even when we are alone. Companions bear sacred witness to our lives and bring us moments of grace from their presence in our lives. Whether near or far, the companions on our journeys are important.

How can you find a companion on the journey to bring you grace today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“May [the flowers] remind us of grace we have known in days past:
Forgiveness we have been granted, and provided.
Love, unearned and shared.
Recovery, begun and established.
Generosity, unforeseen and most sacred.”
-William Sinkford

What grace have you known in days past? How can it guide you today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

For many people, the ritual of blessing a meal with prayer asks us to practice gratitude and to notice our connections to the beings of our planet and to the sacred.

How do you express gratitude and connection before you eat?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“…may we find in this sacred hour the grace we need to love ourselves, our beloved community, and our world.” -Chris Rothbauer

What grace do you need today to love yourself, your community, and our world?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“May we go forth from this place thankful for the life that sustains and renews us, and open to the grace that surrounds and surprises us.” -Charles Howe

How have you been surrounded and surprised by grace?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Floating like a silver raft
in space, and we see the face of our planet anew.
We relish the view;
We witness its round green and brilliant blue,
Which inspires us to ask deeply, wholly:
What can we do?
Open your eyes.
Know that the future of
this wise planet
Lies right in sight:
Right in all of us. Trust
this earth uprising.
-Excerpt from Earthrise, by Amanda Gorman

How will you honor our planet, our home, our mother, the Earth today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Caint no one know at sunrise, how this day is going to end. Caint no one know at sunset if the next day will begin.” -Sweet Honey in the Rock, from “Spiritual,” lyrics by Ysaye M. Barnwell

What are your rituals to end the day? Make sunset a spiritual practice today.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Whenever I see yellow tulips, I think of one particular friend who loves them a lot. Whenever she has the chance, she will buy a bouquet of yellow tulips and keep them in her kitchen. That bit of brightness starts and ends her day.

How can you bring some brightness into your life today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“The goal of mindfulness practice is to become aware that craving, anger, sleepiness, restlessness or doubt is present in the mind when they arise. The movement from being in a mind state and being aware that a mind state is present is the holy grail of mindfulness practice.” -Sam Trumbore

What are you aware of that is keeping you from being fully present to life today?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

If grace is unearned, why does it sometimes feel like it’s a lot of work to come by? Christianity itself split over a disagreement between whether grace or work was more important for salvation. What we do in the world–how we act out our deepest values is undeniably important.

How do you find grace through what you do in the world?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Self-reflection is an important tool in the spiritual toolbox. We can cultivate the ability to honestly witness our own being, to atone for our mistakes, and also to see our own gifts and beauty.

Take some time today to look inside. To experience your inner beauty, to feel the spark of the divine within you. Give yourself the grace of a loving witness.

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Many religious traditions incorporate fast days–days on which one refrains from eating for a specified period, or periods during which one refrains from eating certain foods. These fast days are often meant to make the participants pay attention to the sacred in a different way than in their everyday lives. During Ramadan, Muslims fast daily from sunrise to sunset in order to foster gratitude and remind them of those who go without regularly.

How is grace expressed through your physical being today? How might you incorporate a period of fasting to remind you of your relationship with the sacred?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

Is it possible to make room for spiritual practice, to be closer to the sacred? Are you able to carve out more than one hour a day, as Muslims are asked to do throughout Ramadan?

If yes, reflect on the privilege of this. If not, what are ways others can support you to have this happen?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!

“Unitarian Universalism invited me to understand prayer not as a predetermined language or skill that I had failed to master, but rather as a means of spiritual self-expression that we are called to develop and practice over a lifetime. Unitarian Universalism encourages us to ask the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ and ‘What’ of prayer, and to earnestly seek answers in dialogue with our friends on the journey.” – Jennifer Johnson, in the April edition of Quest (https://www.questformeaning.org/spiritual-reflections/quest-monthly/)

What is your prayer today? What is the why, how, and what that you are seeking to be in dialogue about?

The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no geographical boundary. Please support the publishing of The Daily Compass by making a $10 or $25 contribution (more if you can, less if you can't)! Thank you for your support!