This fourth week of Chalica, we observe the fourth UU principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

While you observe at home, you might use this chalice lighting that centers on this principle:

For some, the chalice cup is a communion cup, freely offered to all who would seek the greater Truth. Others see the circle of fellowship in its embracing sides. The sacred hoop of its rim, the ambient energy cradled in its basin, the abiding, grounded strength of its pedestal: may all be lit by the fire of spiritual integrity; so too may we each be bathed in the glow of our shared Truth, multifaceted and radiant.

Martha Kirby Capo

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If you are observing with young ones or with a larger group of people, you might try a variation of the game “two truths and a lie” which is “two lies and a truth.” In the classic game you are trying to share about yourself with people who don’t know you. It’s meant as an ice-breaker so we can get to know one another. With people we’re close to, whom we do know, this game can turn into a way to reveal something poignant and real about us so that we can get to know one another deeper.

For example, maybe I share that I designed roller coasters (I obviously don’t!), that I only dress in the color pink (if you knew me, it would be obvious that I don’t dress that way), and that I hate folk music. If you wanted to get to know me and try to figure out which the truth is, you could ask some important questions to learn more about what I care about and why music is important to me. At worst, it’s a great excuse to ask some meaningful questions about people you care about.

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One of the unique challenges for living out our fourth principle in 2024 is the way that social media has warped our experiences of the world in a truthful way. In point of fact, this principle matters might be the most contested area of our values in our day to day lives. The truth is hard enough to discover under any circumstances. But we’ve done so much to obscure the world that is and we’ve fractured the ways that we share a common reality.

Naomi Klein has recently written a powerfully insightful book on this topic and she has shared some of her insights in a number of interviews that are a good introduction to the “mirrored worlds” that obscure our awareness of the world in a way that is “free and responsible.” You can listen to her discussion with Sean Illing on the Grey Area podcast here.

Allan T. Georgia, MDiv, MTS, PhD