Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 22
Each morning I wake up with joy and trepidation, excited and scared, Oh my God- how is this happening and OH MY GOD-How amazing is this day. Living in the tension of these seemingly opposing experiences is, to me, the essence of living in the “both/and”, the radical amazement and wonder of living with purpose, passion, and meaning.
Each morning I do my mental exercises, playing games on my iPad, doing the NYT’s wordle, mini and regular crosswords, practicing my bridge skills(which are not all that great), read the latest news, say my prayers and sit down to write this blog. Through all the turmoil and chaos in the world, through the cruelty of Trump and his master/good friend Putin and their buddy Netanyahu, through the idiocy of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, through the lunacy of people who support these charlatans even though their policies are killing them, I keep hope, faith, compassion, love and Truth alive within me.
Am I concerned that Trump will abandon Taiwan-of course and it will not surprise me because he abandons EVERYONE! Am I aghast at what Trump has done to the people of Cuba-of course and it doesn’t surprise me because he doesn’t care about anyone besides himself and maybe Ivanka and Marco Rubio wants the US to take back Cuba so he is willing and able to watch innocent people die, be treated with abject cruelty and starved, have their electricity turned off, run out of fuel to obtain his goal. Does the hypocrisy of the Supreme Court in allowing State Legislatures to redistrict Black legislators out of office with their ‘redistricting’ while stopping the officially elected redistricting maps of Democratic States- OF COURSE and it is not surprising given the absolute racial bias of Alito, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Thomas along with the “good christian belief that women should follow what their man tells them to do” of Barrett! Am I scared to death at where the country is going, that the midterms are being co-opted, that We the People are having our Freedoms stripped by these wonderful ‘christian nationalist lies’-You Bet! These are what keep me up at night, what invade my sleep, and give me trepidation, fear, and Oh my God how is this happening.
And each morning I wake up grateful to be alive, reading the Bible, hearing the call of the prophets, the calls of Rabbis Hillel, Shammai, the prophets, of Rabbi Heschel and the original founders of the Hasidic movement, etc. I know that my job is not to worry about the results and to be in action, doing my part to bring the words emanating from Sinai to the ears of the people around me. I know my work is never done and I cannot fall into despair at the situation that is happening around me. I know my job is to be God’s Cheerleader, to be “a light unto the nations”, to use my prophetic voice to speak to the prophetic voice of you and everyone I engage with. I know these truths and they give me joy, excitement, OH MY GOD-how amazing is this experience! I continue to be “maladjusted to notions and words” so I can “have an authentic experience of that which is” and live in wonder, radical amazement as Rabbi Heschel teaches.
Being maladjusted has its drawbacks, there is an exilic experience because most people just want to go along to get along-even the people with whom I share concerns and outlooks with-stay political enough to not ‘rock the boat’. It is an experience that keeps me on the outside looking in because I am not ‘good’ in polite society-THANK GOD! I use street language that my brother suggests I may want to tone down, I use capital letters to show my outrage and anger. I am my father’s son and can get bombastic in a moment when I see injustice, mendacity, etc. I wake up early and meditate on the day ahead, continually trying to be one grain of sand better. Living in the BOTH/AND of life is impossible when Dogma takes over, when the need to be certain is more important than the need to be in truth, when the need to be right, powerful, wealthy is more important than the need to be decent, to be free. AND WE SHALL OVERCOME, someday-this is my belief, my knowing, and what keeps me excited, joyous, and in radical amazement each and every day.
ACTION STEPS:
Take your spiritual temperature each morning
Find and follow a spiritual routine and don’t do it routinely
Don’t deny the evil that surrounds you and don’t be beaten down by it
Know the good within you, the good around you and join with these “good angels” to defeat despair, abject fear, and acquiescence to power
Stay maladjusted to words and notions so each experience is new, empowering, and you become spontaneous.
God Bless and Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark