Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 301
“The mind is in search of rational coherence, the soul in quest for celebration. Knowledge is celebration. Truth is more than equation of thing and thought. Truth is transcendence, its comprehension is loyalty.” (Who is Man pg 117)
The Latin roots of “rational coherence” are ‘reckoning/reason sticking together’ and the Latin root of “celebration” is ‘frequented/honored’. Immersing ourselves in the first sentence using the roots could mean our minds are always seeking/in search of a reason that sticks together, a reckoning that sticks together. Yet, in spite of this truth, we are willing to believe the lies we tell ourselves and the lies another(s) tells us. In spite of our minds being in search of a reckoning that is truthful, that will last the test of time, we actively engage in self-deception and mendacity, we believe that there is the “one person” who will fix everything, who will take out vengeance on our ‘enemies’, who will ensure that we are not forgotten. History has taught us that these demagogues, these authoritarians care nothing for their followers, they care nothing for truth, they care nothing for anything but their lies, their grifts that they can hold together to deceive everyone for as long as their run can last.
On a more personal level, we have to look at the myriad of ways and situations where we allow our selves to believe our lies have “rational coherence”, that they are reasonable and this reason sticks together because we make up scenarios that allow us to believe our lies, to believe the deceptions of another(s). We do this because we are so afraid of the truth, we do this because we are so afraid to see what is, we do this so we don’t have to respond to the call of the poor, the needy, the stranger within us and outside of us, we do this so we can continue to live in willful blindness and not accept responsibility for our part in any situation. Making our lies seem logical, sensible, and clear is a major undertaking for most of us, we are so afraid to allow our minds to see and embrace truth. To find the reason that doesn’t fall apart from it being based in mendacity and deception means we will have to be more responsible to the demand of the Universe, to the call of the Ineffable One to tend our corner of this garden called earth. We are able to find the tools necessary to nourish the seed of life that has been planted in us, to live with our eyes wide open, finding joy in tragedy as well as success, accepting the bad with the good, sending tall against mendacity, deception by another and self-deception.
As I wrote yesterday, Rabbi Heschel is not asking us to abdicate our minds in order to live from our souls, our minds are not a bad place to live in and/or visit. It is when our minds have been poisoned by the lies of another, by the bastardization of principles, by the false stories we tell ourselves that they become the playground of self-deception, the tool of mendacity and the weapon of mental and spiritual destruction. We are facing such a time in the world, in this country, in our communities, families, in our very self. The fatigue that is being felt by the majority because the mendacious ones and their followers get energized by their lies, they plug into a power supply that is limitless with their deceptions, self and towards another(s). For the majority of us, the bombardment of these lies, the bastardization of the principles of the Bible, the Koran, the New Testament, democracy, decency, kindness, etc overwhelm us and we find ourselves powerless to change the minds of another(s) with facts, with “rational coherence” because the lies are stuck together with the same type of adhesive that barnacles use to stick to a boat!
And, we are able to reject this onslaught, begin to break down the framework of the lies and deceptions when we use truth as our guiding light. When we are able to acknowledge the lies we tell ourselves and see them for what they are, defenses against change; when we seek to connect with another(s) for the sake of learning and improving our corner of the world; when we are determined to stop blaming, be responsible for our actions and speak truth to power, even the power of our lies and self-deception; then we are beginning our recovery and building a way of living that we can live in always, not perfectly, and always searching and seeking a “rational coherence” that causes our soul to experience the joy of a true mind/spirit connection and celebrate the wins and losses of the day with equanimity and welcoming.
This “rational coherence” and “celebration” of our soul is what we are recovering in recovery. We work at this every day, we begin with gratitude upon awakening and end our day with gratitude for being aware, alive and in recovery, no matter what the ‘results’ of our day were, we know we have learned something, we lived our commitment to “rational coherence” and “celebration” a little more today than we did yesterday and this makes it a great day!
I will write more on this on Sunday. Shabbos is a time to reflect, it is a time to celebrate and I know if I don’t have some “rational coherence” based in truth, my soul cannot celebrate. I strive to find the truth, I seek it out from within me and from another(s). When there is not “rational coherence” I, today, am able to accept it and move on rather than fight the mendacity, the blame, the need for another(s) to make me wrong with anger, ferocity, and, at times, inappropriateness. Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark