YES TEAM CELEBRATES JOY.

The only thing more inspiring than a YES Team meeting is a YES Team meeting coupled with the PNW District assembly. It's been a few months since our last in-person meeting, and it can be hard to look on the bright side instead of looking at the negative. What we haven't done: convinced every UU church to send their youth to Cons; accomplished a flawless Spirit Corps; saved the world. It's easy to get bogged down with shoulddas, woulddas, and coulddas when you have a group of bright, good-hearted, and highly motivated individuals. But what HAVE we done? Elissa inspired and motivated us all in coordinating a successful and contagious showing of the Laramie Project. And I for one am enamored with the new format of Spirit Corps!
The theme of District Assembly was 'Joy'. I was made painfully aware of the negativity surrounding me, and was reminded how negative I tend to be. Reverend Bill Sinkford, of First Portland UU, gave the most moving sermon about joy. Do we celebrate joy enough? Sinkford remarked on how Unitarian Universalists are great at being socially and politically active, and we're wonderful at seeing the wrongs that exist today. But if UUs spent half as much energy searching for, recognizing, and creating joy as we did trying to save the world, I think we'd all be much happier! I call myself a realist, but of course that's just a cover for 'detail-oriented cynic'. I need to remind myself to look for the joy in life. And I don’t necessarily mean that I need to be more joyful. People often tell me “put a smile on”, and “cheer up, life’s not that bad!” And all I can think is “Up yours, don’t tell me what to feel!” Because I’m not the type of person who sugar-coats; I’m not one to soften the blow, or beat around the bush. But there’s a difference between painting over bad feelings with a smile, and looking for things to feel good about. Reverend Sinkford, along with keynote speaker Dr. Ysaye Barnwell (who made me even more proud to be a UU than I already was), made me WANT to find joy, which is quite a contrast to the familiar comfort of melancholy in which I normally stew.
So as the YES Team once again parts ways with the goal of saving the world, I’m overjoyed to have Reverend Sinkford’s sermon echoing through our minds, and Dr. Barnwell’s songs resounding in our bodies.

Written by: Sophia M. Brandon, YES team, UUC