Bold underlining indicate insertion ; [brackets indicate deletion.]
Line 17 - Another Petal in the diagram named: Wonder
Line 44 - Wonder. We recognize that we are merely a part of the vast network of Being, beyond full articulation, and no more worthy than any other being.
We covenant to be mindful of tendencies toward self-righteousness, judgmentalism and human-centeredness in the practice of wonder, awe and humility.
I like the idea and sentiment behind this Amendment, but to me it seems like an extension of a combination of the value of Interdependence and the Inspiration of Direct Experience. I wonder whether some of the wording could be included in those two places instead?
As someone who has been moved by this humble experience of wonder, in which I come to know that all-that-is cannot exist without me in it and I cannot exist other than connected to all-that-is … and as someone who appreciates Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it points to such fulfilling and yet connecting wonder, this speaks to my heart.
In drafting our amendment #27, we considered if wonder should be a value but thought it fit better as an inspiration. We do think the line between values and inspirations is not clear though, hence one rationale for our altered graphic. For example love used to be one of the 6 sources and now it is listed as a value.
I do wish we had been able to incorporate some of this verbiage into our amendment but it looks like this was just newly proposed
Not sure what “beyond full articulation” means or why it is necessary. I’m a poet: why shouldn’t we be able to articulate? That’s exactly what poetry does.
We humans don’t have words for everything and sometimes acknowledging that transcendence defies description is as apt as one can get. Especially since “wonder” can probably be defined differently by as many people as you ask.
I had kind of decided that I would read and listen to all the amendments, but that I would probably go with what the people who have been working on this for two years are proposing. As UUs, we are notorious for wordsmithing! But reading this over and looking at the proposed Values and Covenant, I think you are right and this has been left out but it is one of the central tenants of UUism. I support this amendment.
To presenters or promoters of amendments that weren’t prioritized or presented: This forum is closing for comment tomorrow, but our lay-led public Facebook group, Blue Boat Passengers, will remain open for another few weeks for commenting (and still be viewable after that).
If you want to find people to coordinate with for the 15-congregation amendment process, you may use the group to do so while it remains open. There’s now a specific post for this in the group (“A post for those wishing to do the 15-congregation amendment process to coordinate”).
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