Who are you? What matters to you? What do you care about? What is the meaning of life? Are these things you think about? Once in a while? a lot? Not at all? Much of what makes us who we are is in our heads. It’s our ideas. The impressions we have absorbed. What we like and dislike. Who we like and dislike. Why we do what we do. It stems from what is in our heads.
And if we want change, in our lives, in the world, well, the power to make that happen is largely in our heads. Change your mind, change the world.
And there may be more to this. In Samantha Harvey’s book, Orbital, we hear an insight from the astronauts who are on the spaceship orbiting Earth: “You get here and your life starts anew and everything you brought along you brought in your head, and unless it’s needed it stays in your head because this is it now. This is home.” [p. 70]
I am thinking about the idea “it stays in your head.” Maybe it’s not just about changing our minds. Maybe we can make a difference simply by keeping some of our ideas to ourselves. Leaving them in our heads. Not expressing what might not be helpful. I can think of many times that I should have left my ideas in my head and not let them out of my mouth. As Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” [15:11]
This Lenten season is a good time to think about what we need to keep in our heads, and what we need to let out of our mouths because it is needed, helpful, and loving.
Prayer: Our minds are often full to overflowing. May we let go of what is not serving us well. Let go of what is not helpful to the world. Let go of what is not an expression of love. And may we not be afraid to open our mouths when needed. Amen.
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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL
The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024. It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship. They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period. The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 