Dear Friends,

During the Sunday Service on November 15^th, I spoke about “The Universal Practice of Benevolence”.  Benevolence is the desire to be an expression of goodwill and kindness to all beings.  Robert Brumet, author of Living Originally, states that the practice of Universal Benevolence calls us into cultivating the intentions of appreciation, kindness, and generosity.

Appreciation is the recognition and realization of the sacred value of others, for all forms of life, and for all the circumstances of our lives.  It is easy to feel appreciation for those who are kind and loving to us, but it is not so easy to cultivate when we encounter individuals and situations we find challenging.  When we can value people and situations as they are, our hearts begin to soften.

Kindness springs forth from a consciousness of appreciation.  Kindness is cultivating a consciousness of empathy and compassion.  Kindness can be expressed in our words and actions like paying someone a compliment, offering someone a smile, or any other kind gesture of acknowledgement and support. 

Generosity is the act of giving for the sake of giving and to give abundantly and often.  There are limitless ways we can express the generosity of our open heart. We can give of our material resources, give of our time and undivided attention, and we can offer our gifts and talents in service to others.   

As this year’s holidays approach and we are physically distanced, let us discover new ways to remain connected and supportive of one another.  One way we can become more connected as a community is by becoming a Buddy of Benevolence.  Please find the details below:

Dec 1^st – Dec 30^th 

Directions

1.  Sign up to become a Buddy of Benevolence by November 29, 2020.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

2.  You will be randomly assigned a buddy and emailed your buddy’s contact information by November 30th

3.  Contact your buddy to arrange a day and time of the week for you to check in with one another to review the Buddies of Benevolence General Practices and to schedule a weekly check in time.  

4.  Each buddy agrees to practice one of the below aspects of Universal Benevolence each week.

General Practices

Week of Dec 1^st

Make your first contact with your buddy to review the general practice of appreciation and to set up a day and time to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of appreciation delineated below:

Appreciation: Softens the Heart

Throughout each day:

* * Recognize what you value about all people you encounter even those whom you may find challenging.

* * Recognize the value of each experience/event even the ones that are uncomfortable.

* * Recognize what you genuinely value about yourself.

Week of Dec. 6^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of appreciation from the previous week.  Together review the practice of kindness below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of kindness.

Kindness: Opens the Heart

Throughout each day: 

* Recognize ways you can be an empathetic and compassionate listener and presence for another.

* Recognize ways that you can share kind words or perform small acts of kindness for another.

* Recognize ways you can be genuinely kind to yourself.

Week of Dec. 13^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of kindness from the previous week. Together review the practice of generosity below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of generosity.

Generosity: Gives from an Open Heart

Throughout each day: 

* Recognize ways you can be generous.

* Give of your resources, time, undivided attention, and/or gifts and talent.

* Recognize ways you can be genuinely generous to yourself.

Weeks of Dec 20^th – 30^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello, to wish them a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and/or Happy Kwanzaa, and to share your experiences of generosity. 

I hope you will choose to be a Buddy of Benevolence this holiday season and agree to bring Good Cheer and Universal Benevolence into the lives of others.  Your presence has the power to uplift the spirits of your fellow community members and the world,  In turn, you just may be transformed!

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED