Boundaries. Strength. Withholding. Discernment. Judgement, Power within Reality. Selfitude. Actualization. Shechina. Sovereignty.
A bunch of years ago, at a time during which I was undergoing a rather profound change of outlook on life, it occurred to me that Reality is more reliable than fantasy. Don’t get me wrong - there is a place for fantasy in the world. One must dream. What I was coming to, however, was the realization that there is a Strength in greeting Reality head-on in a way that I had not been accustomed to.
There is a certain safety to living in an inner fantasy, but there does not end up being much Selfitude there. In my head, I get to call the shots. In Reality, I never know what I may come up against. Oh, how that challenges the instinct for security! I may not like the outcome. Someone may get mad at me.
And yet, I couldn’t help but notice that each time I chose Reality, I grew Stronger. More Strength led to more Selfitude let to more Strength, and on it goes…
My brother has described our father (z”l) as a person who had the ability to look Reality squarely in the face while maintaining an infinitely creative way of looking at it. He found Strength in Reality, while not being limited by its façade of immutability.
May we all be so blessed.
Shabbat shalom.