Foundation within Beauty. Compassion. Balance. Harmony.
I love Yesod. It is a direct link to gratitude for me, and gratitude is just about my most direct link to G8d. For most of my life before I found recovery, I was, as one recovery book I read put it, rudderless. I had all sorts of people who were offering me a solid Foundation for healthy living on every level, but I couldn't latch on. I couldn't take root.
Now, when I think about the complex and Beautiful thing that my life has become over the almost two decades I have been in recovery, I think a whole lot about the Foundationstones of my overall structure. The work of Art that G8d has been designing called Diana's Life.
There are many elements that go into my Foundation. Practices, people, communities, experiences, principles. One of the many things I've found that Jewish spirituality and 12 Step spirituality have in common is the importance of memory. As I take time each day to remember where I've been, it puts into stark relief all of the elements that have contributed to the current state of my life (State of the Art!).
At the bottom, top, and center of it all is the gift of I was given of learning to develop, cultivate, and maintain a relationship with the Holy Holy (Wholly) Blessed Blessed One. That is what makes it possible for me to be in right relationship with the myriad earthly aspects of my Foundation. All together, my Foundations help me to navigate the complexity of the Artwork with a reasonable amount of Grace.
Of course, as these things go, there is always a continuum of flow. I am aware every day that I am a building block of others' Foundations. Certainly, providing Foundation is a part of maintaining my own Foundation. Parenting, spousing, sponsoring, teaching, leading worship are all ways in which I've been given opportunities to provide or strengthen Foundation for those I am lucky enough to serve in those ways. It is no small honor to be part of the Foundation of someone else's Artwork. And the gratitude flows on.
May you be blessed today with grateful awareness of the Foundations that support the Artwork of your life. May you joyfully acknowledge the ways in which you provide Foundation to others.