Standing in Moving Water
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.” — Psalm 46:1–2
I have been thinking about what it does to a culture when the ground does not hold.
It is not only one event that unsettles us. It is the accumulation. Climate patterns shift in ways that once seemed theoretical, and now entire regions live with fire seasons, drought cycles, and flooding that rewrite the map of ordinary life. Markets swing with little warning, reshaping retirement accounts and local economies overnight. Airports close with only hours’ notice (more on this soon). Public policies appear and disappear within days, forcing families and businesses to recalculate again and again. Technology moves faster than our ethics can keep pace, and artificial intelligence alters industries before workers can adapt. Institutions that once felt durable—courts, universities, public health systems, even long-standing alliances between nations—reveal their fragility under pressure. Wars erupt. Democracies strain. Misinformation spreads at scale. Even when a given week passes without headline catastrophe, the nervous system does not reset. The background hum of instability remains.
Many of us carry that hum in our bodies. We feel it in shortened patience, in sleep that never quite restores us, in conversations that escalate more quickly than they used to. We notice it in the way we check our phones before our feet touch the floor in the morning, bracing for what might have changed overnight.
Modern life trained us to expect a certain continuity. Systems might improve or decline, but they would remain recognizable. Institutions would correct themselves. Progress would move unevenly but forward. We organized our lives around that assumption. We built careers, families, congregations, and long-term plans on the belief that the basic structure would remain intact.
When that assumption weakens, something deeper than policy shifts. Our psyches shifts.
In prolonged instability, our attention shortens. Our trust thins. Our cynicism begins to feel like wisdom. People oscillate between outrage and withdrawal because both feel more manageable than sustained engagement. Long-term thinking becomes difficult because the present keeps demanding recalibration.
We often speak about resilience as if it were toughness. That is not what we need.
Catholic mystic and teacher, St. Thomas Aquinas, described virtue as a stable disposition formed over time. It is not a mood. It is not a reaction. It is a capacity trained into the self. Fortitude, for Aquinas, meant endurance in pursuit of the good when circumstances press hard against you. Prudence meant the disciplined ability to judge well in complex situations rather than react quickly.
Virtue allows a person to remain oriented even when the surrounding conditions move.
Brother Lawrence learned this in the monastery kitchen. He did not control the politics of seventeenth-century France. He washed dishes. He returned his attention to God while cooking and cleaning. He trained himself to practice presence in God in ordinary tasks until steadiness became habitual. His stability in God did not depend on the absence of disruption. It depended on repeated orientation.
That is what resilience actually is.
It is the ability to notice anxiety rising and choose speech that does not inflame.
It is the discipline of staying relational when isolation feels safer.
It is the commitment to think carefully when the culture rewards speed.
We cannot slow the river of history by willpower. The world is moving quickly. Ecological systems are breaking down. Global interdependence exposes fragilities. Information floods our devices and creates madness. The tempo rarely eases.
But we can decide how we stand inside it.
If we brace rigidly, we exhaust ourselves. If we drift without anchor, we surrender agency. The work is to plant our feet with flexibility, to hold weight low enough that we do not tip over when the current pushes hard.
This kind of steadiness forms through habit. It grows in congregations that gather regularly enough to remember who they are. It grows in families that keep shared meals sacred. It grows in leaders who refuse exaggeration even when exaggeration would rally applause. It grows in people who protect Sabbath in a culture that worships urgency.
A society that lives in constant instability will either fracture or deepen.
Deepening requires intention. It requires the cultivation of character strong enough to endure pressure without becoming harsh. It requires communities that can hold grief without surrendering to despair.
We may not be able to make the water still.
We can become the kind of people who know how to stand in it without losing ourselves.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where do you feel the “moving water” most acutely in your life right now? Is it economic, relational, ecological, institutional?
When instability rises, what is your instinctive response — bracing, withdrawing, accelerating, numbing?
What practices in your life already cultivate steadiness? Which ones need strengthening?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for Steadiness
God of shifting ground and steady mercy, You know the speed of this age. You see how quickly events change and how deeply they press upon us. Form in us the kind of strength that does not depend on control. Teach us endurance without harshness, courage without panic, and clarity without contempt. When anxiety rises, steady our breath. When the culture accelerates, anchor our judgment. When fear tempts us to exaggerate or withdraw, return us to presence. Make our lives places of coherence in a time of confusion. Make our communities refuges where trust can grow again. Give us the grace to stand in moving water without losing ourselves. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Practicing Orientation
Choose one daily activity this week that you normally rush through: washing dishes, commuting, answering email, preparing a meal.
Before you begin, pause and name one word that reflects who you want to be in this season: patient, attentive, truthful, steady.
As you move through the task, return to that word when your attention drifts. Do not force calm. Simply practice returning.
At the end of the week, notice whether steadiness feels more accessible than it did before.
Resilience forms through repetition.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
February - My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. I will be leading a book study on Brian McLaren’s book, Life After Doom, that starts on Feb 17. Join the community here.
March, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.
March 17, 23, 31 and April 7, 2026, 7-8:30pm ET - Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox and I will be hosting another 4-part series on “Visions for the Common Good.” This series will include sessions with David Abrams, Randy Woodley and Lynne Twist! All sessions are recorded, and you will get the link if you can’t make it. Learn more here.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Science and Nonduality is offering a Community Gathering with Dr. Lyla June, Kaira Jewel Lingo and Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, facilitated by Rae Abileah on February 26th on how spiritual practice, trauma-aware care, and neighborhood organizing are being woven together as living traditions. Learn more here.
The need for us to persevere and contribute grows ever more challenging as the horror and cruelty escalates, created by leaders with “malevolent incompetence.” Dr. Margaret Wheatley is offering a “Bundle for Good” for shipping within the U.S. She will send you seven copies of Perseverance, and one copy of her book of poems, Opening to the World as It Is. She’s including the poetry book as another means to support you personally. You can learn more here.
The Convergence Music Project is hosting a songwriting event on March 19-21, 2026 in Nashville. No songwriting experience is required, so feel warmly welcome even if you've never written a song before. There will be plenty of content also to further educate, inspire, and develop the gifts of advanced songwriters as well. Learn more.
Millions of people are seeking training in becoming Legal Observers for their communities vulnerable to ICE. Here is a recorded training that is helpful produced by the team at No Kings. If you know of other trainings, please post in the comments below.
The phenomenal team of “Singing Resistance” has gifted all of us a songbook of protest songs that groups are now using across the world. Here is the link. I am marching around my house singing these throughout the day. My dogs are very confused.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Profound! Words/Thoughts to be embraced and re-read regularly as we strive to hold steady!
Instability,
upsetting, unsettling, real.
Raucous, rocking boat.
...
“A chance to deepen,”
to cultivate character.
Hone anchor habits.