This is hopefully the case with our capital campaign and building renovation project. We began with an ambitious potential destination, and after many conversations, we arrived at what felt like a more reasonable shorter-term goal. Now, we’ve committed resources to further define the budget for our next steps in renovating our space. And within those boundaries, we’re moving toward a goal of a more welcoming, accessible space that invites both breadth and depth of connection. 

Maybe you have personal paths or destinations that are meaningful to you as well. A degree or a career that’s important to you. An accomplishment or calling that you committed yourself to. Sometimes, gaining the skills or relationships or experience that we need becomes easier when we break down a long journey into smaller waystations or steppingstones. And often, there are surprises along the way that invite us to recalibrate our timelines or objectives.

In all of these designs and plans, spiritual integrity matters. In some stories, we hear about people “selling their souls” to gain something desirable. Maybe this seems like a real bargain for some Unitarian Universalists who don’t really “believe in” souls. And yet, is it really any different from achieving something by keeping others from having access to resources? Or arriving at a destination by exploiting other beings? When we set aside our spiritual commitments in order to satisfy some other agenda, we betray a part of ourselves. We sell our soul. Or at least, pawn it for a time. 

And even when we betray ourselves in this way, pathways can be deeply meaningful. Establishing a road back, a plan to reclaim a piece of ourselves, a destination of repair and reconciliation—with our inner wisdom or with other people—those pathways, defined by our values, can guide us home when we drift or wander.

Just as our spiritual compass of liberating love can guide us when there is no clear path, our values can illuminate meaningful destinations and guideposts for us, too. We can envision Beloved Community. Or a world in which every person flourishes with dignity, love, and compassion. Or a time in which no being is exploited. Those may seem like far-off destinations, but they can still provide that focal point on the horizon for us to move purposefully toward. 

If we take time for self-examination or reflection, we may realize that we have been lacking in generosity. Or denying other people’s sacred, inherent worthiness. Or resisting our interdependence with the full web of existence. And when we experience those realizations, we can inquire of our own inner wisdom: What is the way back? What is the path toward more fully honoring my commitment to Generosity? Or Equity or Pluralism or Interdependence, or whatever spiritual value we’ve drifted from.   

In other words, our spiritual principles guide us when there is no clear way and our spiritual principles define a clear way for us to experience wholeness, connection, hope, integrity, and peace. May it be so in your life.