Whatever It Takes

We have concluded a special summer in Camberg with three workshops, for HARP and adults (aged 18+ and 22+).

Our motto this year was Hold On & Return to the Arena: More Hits Coming and after the rich experiences on the workshops, we hope there is a lot to Hold On to. The HDH booklet introduced the motto with:

It is a call to ‘Hold On’ and not let go of God and our ideals. To be strong, to persevere and to find hope.

It’s about taking time to pause and contemplate before making our next move. It’s about preparing ourselves for the demanding times that lie ahead. And it’s about growing our confidence to meet the challenges; we have ‘more hits’ to take, and ‘more hits’ to create.

The best might be yet to come.

We know the many challenges in life intimately, to hold on to the hope that the best is yet to come is not a simple notion. In reality to hold on to hope and to see past tomorrow, often requires everything that we have.

The summer reignited the flame that we as the community have to hold on and fight. Our lives are this elaborate dance of holding tightly to the essential and releasing the peripheral, and in that process it is not always the peaceful and ideal circumstances that we wish for. Yet, the spiritual fight is necessary because we should feel that we are offering and investing to do whatever it takes to be in God’s embrace. And then again, when was the last time we really fought? Maybe it is time again to fight for this spiritual life…because what if there was something more in us that can make the difference? 

The fulfilment and joy from the workshops should not be frozen there, but should permeate our lives and adorn the paths we walk at home. The summer was an opportunity to recuperate and re-evaluate, but one arena that follows us home is simply us: us at the workshop, with family, with BCs, with friends, in our community, in school, in work, in our hobbies.

Maybe it is time again to fight for our lives to be meaningful, not just a performance. Though we are in constant conflict with our selfishness, maybe we could fight for our love to become more sacrificial, so that we have more power to serve others. Perhaps our need to be right, overtakes our goodness, and perhaps our cautious bystanderism stops us from reaching our conscience. This summer was in direct opposition to the often unexpressed notion that life’s greatest pursuit is to be comfortable. 

And lastly, maybe we need to fight for our lineage. To honour our parents and the significance of the Blessing – inheriting their dream, which for many, was world peace, the Kingdom of God on Earth, ideal blessed families and their children being closer to God. Can we take seriously that we are part of our parents’ dream and our potential is infinite. What do we inherit from the first generation, from True Parents, from truth? Can we become the new pioneers? 

How can we stand before God and say “Hold onto me God! I will not fail”? To become trustworthy and unshakeable, to prepare for Him, surprises of love, perseverance and conscience. Part of it is developing our wisdom; we need to hold onto the heart and spirit of the past, define our present reality all the time, and become visionaries like True Parents, inheriting their mission. 

The beauty of the summer is that our spiritual waters are stirred again, and hopefully the ripples of inspiration and new questions can affect the furthest depths of our souls and lives. One poignant message from the summer was the statement that ‘The Power is Within Us’. Whatever the circumstances, I want to choose to take this message personally as I think it captures what we declare in the family pledge: that we are the owners.

Here are some reflections on the motto from a range of participants across the three workshops:

“our values should be reflected in our calendar.” 

 Participant, 28

“We need to hold on. Hold on to God. Hold on to the legacy that needs protecting. Hold on to a future with God”

Participant, 32

“I know the arena that I need to return to well”

Participant, 29

“if I care then I want to fight”

Participant, 24

“For me the arena is really home rather than the workshop”

Participant, 25

“a conviction that goes beyond our personal feelings or the circumstances around us — something we can hold on to when we’re struggling. Something that gives us strength when we’re feeling weak and a place where we can remind ourselves of why we chose to live according to certain standards, so that we can come back and fight for what our conscience tells us, even though it might be hard at times.”

Participant, 21

“To me it’s to persevere against the many difficult challenges ahead, not just for my own growth but for the sake of those I love”

Participant, 26

“For me it was as if God was asking me to Return to the Arena and my response would simply be Here I Am, being committed to where I am called”

Participant, 22

“Holding on to faith. 

Return to the Arena: Returning to life and God. 

Returning to a life of hope”

Participant, 16