Last Friday I stayed for common cathedral’s Bible study after Boston Warm. I’ve been a bit hesitant to join Bible study because of some negative associations it brings up for me about my own religious upbringing, but lately I’ve been trying to approach it with a new perspective. I decided to look at the Bible study group as a way to not only continue to spend time with this community and practice therapeutic communication skills, but also as a sort of assessment time to learn about the spiritual perspectives and themes that community members are currently dealing with.

This week’s theme was about compassion and generosity, giving to our neighbor what we would give to ourselves. I greatly enjoyed hearing the passion and conviction of community members as they shared their perspectives. Personally, though I think of myself as a pretty compassionate and giving person, I sometimes struggle to conceptualize of the line between healthy boundaries and selfishness, meaning:  when is it necessary to preserve my energy and resources to care for myself, and when does doing so hold me back from more connection? I don’t know if I have an answer for this, but I’ve been chewing on the phrase, “Love like you mean it”. To me this means, if I’m going to give to others, I want to do it as if I mean it, not because I feel obligated to. In order to mean it, I must first make sure my own needs are met, so that all my energy can go towards compassion for the other. There are times, of course, when meeting the needs of community are meeting the needs of myself. I felt this very strongly last week whilst holding a myriad of post-election feelings and grief. Because it was a grief that didn’t just impact me, but everyone around me, it made sense to me to care for myself by showing up the best I could for others. This theme inspired the poems I chose for my poetry group today. I am excited to hear community members’ thoughts and what new insights they may bring.

Selected common artwork