June 2026
A few years ago, California had a tremendous number of wildfires. Some of them were in Southern California, and some around the Bay Area. Those of us in the Bay Area had smoke everywhere for weeks. Sometimes the smoke was so bad, it looked like it was evening outside even though it was daytime. There was a pall over everything, and many people left the area to get away from it and to breathe more easily.
It’s like that politically right now. There is an energy pall over the area. Many people are angry, upset, depressed and fearful about the future. Those same people want to be hopeful, and active and effective. They talk with each other and go to demonstrations and call their Congresspeople. Then the cycle begins again.
It’s an internal contradiction…
It’s an internal contradiction, difficult to resolve. Sometimes you might feel the anger and depression and want to get away from it all, then sometimes you want to fight.
Katie and I were able to get away from it all for a few weeks, when we recently went to Prague and Vienna. It felt good to be able to breathe without all the political turmoil in our space. We didn’t watch much news, maybe a little bit of CNN International, but mostly our attention was on being tourists and enjoying the beautiful places we were in. We walked around a lot and listened to beautiful music.
But the contradictions are still there, even if it’s not about politics. We live our lives, go to work, take care of the kids, go out to dinner sometimes, watch the news, even take a trip. But then we have things inside of us that need to be addressed.
What in you is anxious? What are the unresolved tensions?
The other night in a graduate class I was teaching, I asked the students “What in you is anxious? What are the unresolved tensions?” That set off a long meditation/discussion, and everyone contributed about their own anxieties, but also about some of their resolutions. Many people realized that in order to resolve these anxieties, it was necessary to address them, and not let them simmer indefinitely, as we all tend to do.
We are constantly reminded that we have the tools to resolve these contradictions within us. This is the internal work. We have so much attention outside of ourselves, on what is happening out there, that sometimes we forget about “in here”. “In here” determines whether we are happy or depressed, hopeful or fearful.
I was once a philosophy major in college, until I realized it was too analytical for me and I couldn’t grok a lot of it. But there was one philosopher named Spinoza that spoke to me, even at a time when I wasn’t involved in the metaphysical or spiritual world in the least. He talked about how he believed that there was spark of God in everything, including ourselves. At the time I thought that was a novel concept.
If we have a spark of God within us, then what does that mean?
If we have a spark of God within us, then what does that mean? I thought that was a glorious concept. All of us sparks could then communicate! And from a more divine perspective!
That spark of God means that we have the spark of joy and hopefulness and divinity within us. It’s important to let that spark shine through us, and even to others. A spark is a light, and light shines through darkness, even if it takes a while. We must believe that.
The Bible affirms this is many ways. In I Corinthians 3:16, it says: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” Even our Creed affirms this concept, where it says, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
That is a powerful concept to take to heart and to manifest, and to let it shine through.
My very best and many blessings to you, who support the school and church so steadfastly, so enthusiastically, and so regularly.
Best regards,
Rev. Laura Hopper
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