We teach what we believe about ourselves. What do Unitarian Universalists believe about themselves? Do they believe they are special living in a hostile world? Do they believe that they are defective and unacceptable in some way and therefore are attempting to create a safe space into which they can feel like they belong? Do they believe they alone have a progressive message that the world would benefit from hearing?
Life presents us with a curriculum which we are to learn and we find ourselves repeating the lessons until we do learn them and then we desire to teach them to others to save the world from its suffering.
And what is the primary lesson we need to learn by teaching? It is an existential lesson which is simply that our suffering comes from our attempts to separate ourselves from our creator by building up and protecting our egos. Our mission is to teach that we are not our ego but a part of something far more mysterious, glorious, and awesome. The path to happiness is to eschew the ego, forgive ourselves and others and join the rest of Life in the At-one-ment. This involves looking for the divine spark, the Great Rays, from all living things and encouraging others to do the same.
The mission of Unitarian Universalists is to teach not only a respect but a love for the interdependent web of all existence and the most important step in this direction is to forgive our own trespasses and the trespasses of others against us.
Take away = The basis of our Unitarian Univeralist faith is forgiveness and this requires awareness and generosity. How can you teach the value of forgiveness to others so that you better learn the lesson yourself?