06/09/2026
8 June 2026
Rev. Kate’s Connections
Yesterday I shared my sabbatical learning that my usual high paced daily thrust forward is no longer working for me. I need to engage in life at different speeds because it’s healthier and more importantly love is relative to speed. It’s not just how we spend our time, but at what speed we spend our days that we cultivate love.
Poet Elizabeth Tarbox, wrote in High Tide, Low Tide, “There is a time for high tide—for being involved and active, taking risks and putting out effort to master the elements—and there is a time for low tide—inactivity and quiet reflection—and both are necessary in our lives.”
Tarbox’s wisdom is more than lyrical, it is lifesaving. Too much time spent in waves crashing repeatedly on the shore is not sustainable. Our frail human bodies cannot endure against the inevitable bruising and broken bones. Mastering the elements can become surviving the elements.
My recognition turned into embracing the sloth to accompany my dragon of speed, the working dog of tasks and the pig of being in the moment.
But how to invite the sloth into the high tide of ministry? Sloth’s don’t swim.
Rafts! I am cultivating different kinds of rafts to grab and sit for a spell of quiet reflection.
Music slows me down, so more music in my office. I pause to sing when passing through the sanctuary.
Food slows me down, so eat my lunch and snacks away from my desk.
Nature slows me down, so more walks in woods and stare out the window if my body must be indoors.
Acceptance slows me down, so more affirmation for inertia, and resisting the capitalist messages that my value is tied to my output (it’s not!).
And I added a new friend who looks at me as a constant reminder from across the room (see below). He needs a name, suggestions are welcome.
I hope the pace of your life, with all the ebbs and flows, helps you cultivate love that is expansive and profound. Mine is! Just grab a raft and sit for a spell.
Love, Rev. Kate
