The Sacred After Certainty
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Everything that is created changes, passes, and disappears. Cling to nothing.” — Gautama Buddha
There is an old story from the Jewish mystical tradition about the Baal Shem Tov, an 18th-century spiritual teacher and healer who helped found Hasidic Judaism in Eastern Europe. The stories about him focus less on academic theology and more on how everyday people stay connected to the sacred during hard times.
One story says that whenever great danger threatened the Jewish community, the Baal Shem Tov would go to a certain place in the forest. There he would light a sacred fire, pray a particular prayer, and somehow the danger would pass.
Years later, his successor faced another crisis. He no longer remembered how to light the sacred fire, but he still knew the prayer and the place in the forest. So he went there, spoke the prayer, and somehow that was enough.
Another generation passed. The next rabbi no longer knew how to light the fire or recite the prayer. But he still remembered the place in the forest. So he went there and said, “I do not know the fire. I do not know the prayer. But I remember the place.” And somehow that too was enough.
Eventually, another generation came along. The rabbi no longer knew the fire, the prayer, or even the place in the forest. All he could do was sit in his chair and tell the story.
And the story itself became enough.
Many people I know feel spiritually lost right now. I hear it from clergy who are unsure how to guide their congregations through so much political hostility and distrust. I hear it from parents trying to raise children in a world shaped by algorithms they barely understand. I hear it from older adults who once believed that democratic norms, international alliances, scientific institutions, and basic constitutional protections were more stable than they seem now. I hear it from younger people who cannot imagine owning a home, retiring securely, or trusting that the climate will stay livable.
We are holding, often in isolation, a deep grief. Many of us no longer trust the institutions that once helped give life meaning. Congregations, universities, journalism, government, and medicine all feel less reliable. Even the idea of objective truth is now questioned in ways that would have seemed impossible a generation ago.
Some people try to bring back the past just as it was. Others leave it behind completely. Many feel stuck in the middle, holding onto pieces of traditions they still care about but no longer fully trusting the institutions that once supported them.
This old Hasidic story, at least for me, is an odd comfort because it refuses nostalgia without surrendering wisdom. People forget things. Traditions change. Institutions grow weaker. Languages shift. Communities break apart. History keeps moving. None of this is new. The Jewish people who shared these stories survived exile, persecution, displacement, and political collapse many times over the centuries. They knew how fragile civilizations can be. But they also understood that the sacred sometimes survives inside memory long after institutions lose their coherence.
I think many people believe spirituality is mostly about certainty or keeping traditions exactly the same. But wisdom traditions tell a more human, complex story. Again and again, people lose their way, let go of old structures, forget parts of rituals, and still find the Sacred in surprising ways.
The Buddhist tradition teaches that impermanence is at the heart of reality. Everything changes and nothing lasts forever. Holding on too tightly to forms brings suffering because no structure lasts. This idea might sound negative at first, but I think it actually calls us to a deeper kind of spiritual maturity. It asks if we can stay compassionate and aware even as the world shifts around us.
Even with all of the disruption and disorientation we live with today, people still gather at hospital beds when someone is dying. They still light candles after tragedies and sing at funerals. They still look for words big enough to hold grief, beauty, fear, love, and wonder. They still long for community, meaning, and a sense of something greater than just buying or achieving things.
The forms change. The longing remains.
Maybe that is part of what this story is trying to teach us. The sacred has always been more resilient than the structures carrying it. That does not mean institutions are not important. Rituals, communities, stories, and memories all matter. But maybe spiritual maturity is about learning to tell the difference between the container and the fire inside it.
Some of the vessels are clearly cracking right now. I think we all know that. But I am not convinced the fire has gone out. Sometimes I wonder if times like these make us rediscover what truly matters beneath all the systems and old certainties: Compassion. Presence. Courage. Reverence. Truthfulness. Caring for those in need. Community. Love. Those things survive longer than empires do.
The final rabbi in the story could no longer perform the ritual correctly. All he could do was tell the story honestly. Somehow that still opened a path toward the sacred. I find that strangely comforting right now.
Many of us do not know what comes next. Some of the old guides no longer help. Some of the old words do not feel right anymore. Some of the old certainties are gone.
But perhaps the work now is not pretending certainty we no longer possess. Maybe our task now is to stay faithful enough to keep sharing the story with each other until the fire shines again.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What spiritual “fires” or practices from earlier seasons of your life do you still carry with you today?
Where do you notice grief arising as familiar institutions or certainties begin to crack?
What parts of your tradition, community, or inner life still feel alive and essential beneath the changing forms?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Fire We Cannot Fully See
Loving Spirit, many of us feel like people carrying fragments. The old certainties no longer hold the way they once did. The institutions we trusted feel fragile. The future feels difficult to imagine clearly. Still, something sacred continues moving beneath the surface. Help us remain faithful to the deeper fire when the vessels around us begin to crack. Teach us how to live without pretending certainty we no longer possess. Keep us tender in a world growing harder. Keep us truthful in a culture increasingly shaped by performance and fear. And when we no longer know the right prayer, the right ritual, or the right words, remind us that even the honest telling of the story can still open a path toward you. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Remembering the Fire
Today, spend some time reflecting on the spiritual practices, stories, songs, or rituals that shaped you earlier in life.
What still carries life for you?
What has fallen away?
What feels performative now?
What still feels true in your bones?
If possible, light a candle. Sit quietly for a few minutes without needing to solve anything. Let yourself grieve what has been lost without rushing to certainty about what comes next.
Then consider: What fire are you still being asked to carry forward?
You do not need to possess all the answers to remain faithful to the journey. Sometimes remembering the story itself is enough.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
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. Join the community here.
June 2, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are starting our next book, The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
June 11, 18, 24, 2026, 12:30pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman on The Commons for a three-part series on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” series. Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During these sessions, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
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.
June 20, 2026 – ONLINE EVENT – Margaret Wheatley and Mary Daniels will lead a special three-hour online gathering titled Fierce Compassion: The Power of the Sacred Feminine. In a time marked by fragmentation, fear, and exhaustion, this program explores compassion not as passive kindness, but as a courageous force that protects life, tells the truth, and remains deeply rooted in love. Drawing from spiritual traditions, contemplative practice, and the imagery of fierce feminine wisdom figures such as Kali and Durga, they will reflect on what it means to stay human and spiritually grounded in difficult times. LEARN MORE + REGISTER.
JULY 12, 2026, 8AM–8PM ET in NYC - My friend Monika Son is helping lead a powerful Buddhist-led, interfaith pilgrimage across New York City titled “Day of Remembering Our Interdependence.” Inspired by the Buddhist monks’ 2,300-mile Walk for Peace and grounded in the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, participants will gather for walking meditation, prayer, chanting, ceremony, and collective reflection across all five boroughs, including stops at the African Burial Ground and the Metropolitan Detention Center where ICE detainees are being held. The day will culminate in a joyful community gathering in Queens with music, poetry, movement, and food. Participants are welcome to join for the full pilgrimage or any portion of the day. LEARN MORE HERE.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Thank you, Rev. Cameron. Yes, we are all in this together! I have always been fond of Ecclesiastes 7:10: "Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?", for it is not wise to ask such questions." There is no going back; there is only right now, "the fullness of time," God time.
Once again you hit this one out of the park (I'm a baseball fan). Thank you, this is one of your BEST posts. I love the Rabbi story. Your post give me do much hope. Peace and love to you.