Soul Matters

Welcome to Soul Matters!

Every month this year, we'll examine a different theme through Soul Matters, a Unitarian Universalist theme-based curriculum that encourages deep thinking about spiritual, religious, and philosophical topics. Look for opportunities in Worship, Religious Education, Sharing Groups, and on social media.

Black and white image - a young girl in a flower crown and white dress bends down to look at a stem of tall, white, lacy flowers. Black text reads "May's Monthly Theme: Awakening Curiosity"
A person in black with a disco ball head sits and reads a newspaper. Text reads: Each of us is shaped as much by the quality of the questions we are asking as by the answers we have it in us to give."
A black and white image of an older gentleman with his eye behind a magnifying glass. Text reads "Curious people are interesting people; I wonder why that is. - Bill Maher"

Our May theme is Awakening Curiosity. UU minister, Victoria Safford, speaks of curiosity using the metaphor of perception and sight. She writes:

“To see, simply to look and to see, is an ethical act and intentional choice; to see, with open eyes, is a spiritual practice and thus a risk, for it can open you to ways of knowing the world and loving it that will lead to inevitable consequences. The awakened [and curious] eye is a conscious eye, a willful eye, and brave, because to see things as they are, each in its own truth, will make you very vulnerable.”

Consequences. We rarely think of curiosity in terms of consequences. But Rev. Safford seems to have it right. There is a type of curiosity that is about enjoyment and adventure. This way of understanding curiosity invites us to experience life as a playground. But when we look closely at our lives we realize there’s another type of curiosity at play. This kind leads us, not to playgrounds, but into dark alleys and pathless woods. It demands, not just our attention, but our courage. It’s not interested in entertaining us with the wonders of the world. Instead, it wants to enlist us in the work of the world.