Religious Exploration – Cynthia Westby, Director of Religious Exploration

Happy New Year!  I am so grateful to all of you for your support of religious exploration for Westside’s children and youth.  Our amazing community’s gifts of teaching, contributions to the classroom supplies, and commitment of financial resources makes RE possible.  Thank you!

I wish for all of you a year of blessings, health and resolve … for whatever resolutions you choose to dedicate yourself to this year.  May your faith or credo support you on your path.

The new year is a time of both celebration and reflection.  The cold and dark of winter naturally turns our attention inward to contemplate what this past year has meant for us … and what we hope the coming year will offer.  Listening to your still-small voice within for guidance can help guide your course for the coming year toward your deepest yearning and growth.

I love rituals and each year my family, friends and I share a tradition on New Year’s Eve.  We reflect with each other, on the past year and what was rich and/or challenging.  Then we share our aspirations, to the extent each person is comfortable revealing, for the coming year.  Sometimes we burn on flash paper our list of hopes and dreams, to send them out into the world as a visual for imagining them beginning to take form.  Whatever you choose to do on New Year’s Eve, I encourage you to spend time with yourself, listening for the longings of your heart and soul, and considering how you might heed their call.

May 2018 be a year of hope, peace and kindness for you.  I look forward to spending another year with all of you.

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