Endurance. Eternity. Will. Day-to-Day. Active Force within Beauty. Harmony. Balance. Heart. Compassion.
Tuesday, May 7
It’s terrifying -
Knowing we don’t know God’s will.
What about my plans?
- A haiku by Rabbinic Pastor David Daniel Klipper
I had a plan about what I was going to write tonight. And perhaps I’ll get there, yet. Incredibly, the haiku above was part of that plan, but it has taken on a whole new meaning since I first had the idea to include it here.
I have been derailed from my plan by yet another Heart-break involving children shooting children. This time, yet again, in a community near someone I love. I don’t have any idea what this has to do with Netzach SheBeTiferet, neither can I ignore it or keep silent here. It has invaded this sacred space. Certainly, there is a force of Will at play. Not G8d’s. (I need a refresher course on why installing free Will in the human OS was a good idea.) I can find no Beauty in this. I am horrified.
l was thinking today about the correspondence of Netzach with the right leg and/or foot as the sefirot map out on the human body. I was thinking about how, as I realize I’m much farther from the finish line with this bug than I thought myself to be as of last night, I am starting to Step Forward into a place of Balance with it, settle in. I was thinking of the way Netzach corresponds with the fourth day of Creation, in which G8d set the stars in their places in the dome of the heavens - a giant, Beautiful snow globe for G8d’s creative outlet. I was feeling the gratitude for having been set in a new place, such that I could really perceive the Beauty surrounding us in the cosmic snow globe. It really was very lovely.
Now I am thinking about Stepping into deep wells of Compassion for all those who suffer from unthinkable violence, all across our globe. I am thinking about repairing the brokenness of the collective Will that acts out of fear, rather than dwelling inside Beauty and Compassion. I am thinking about how to find the Enduring Compassion we need when, day after day, these headlines fly.
What kind of Active Force for Beauty can I be today in this world? What Actions can I do to restore Balance and Heart to our broken world?
Last week, I contacted my congress rep and senator. Today, I offer a couple of links to organizations working to staunch the flow of gun violence in our country. These were also shared recently by my friend Rabbi Shulamit Thiede, a professor at NNC Charlotte, who walked with one of her students outside the Kennedy building less than an hour before gunfire shattered the excitement of the last day of classes in that very building.
There is still very little I can do from my spot on the couch, but I can click, and I can write. I hope you will join me.