Reflection on Star Word - Motivation

Dearly Beloved,

Earlier this week someone sent me their initial reflections on their star word -- they inspired me to share some of my reflections with you.

MOTIVATION. That's my word for this year, and to be honest, I wasn't so sure about it at first. Turns out, the more I think and reflect on it, the more it's growing on me. 

So: what does motivation mean?
The first definition to appear in my online search is: "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way." The second is: "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something." 

And those definitions got me thinking:

• What motivates me? 
• How is motivation connected to my spirituality if at all? 
• What motivated Jesus? 
• How do we stay motivated or renew our motivation in times of anxiety or weariness? 
• What is the relationship of motivation to energy? (Sometimes I think I have the desire or willingness to do something but then don't actually follow through because I feel like I don't have the energy.)
• I have a feeling that fear and obligation function as regular motivators for me (and probably most of us) in times of stress. How might my behavior/feelings/outlook/life be changed if I tried to shift so that my behaviors are motivated by things like joy, creativity, compassion and love? 

And this gets me thinking about how my star word connects to our collective life together?

• In our congregation, what motivates us?
• How is our motivation connected to our understanding of God? 
• Do we talk about what motivates us? 
• When are we motivated by fear or obligation? 
• When are we motivated by joy, excitement, compassion, and love?
• How are our responses different based on our motivations? 

Well, the wheels are certainly turning! I hope that you have a chance to spend some time reflecting on your star word. Who knows what will come up as you do!

This Sunday, following worship is our annual congregational meeting -- it's a chance to reflect on where we've been and where we're heading. A chance to celebrate all that we have shared and all the ways we've grown this last year. I hope you'll be there!

With love and blessings,

Thandiwe