Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 30
Today marks 30 days since I began this new blog and I am just getting going! Today is also Memorial Day in the United States, a day of remembrance of the people who “gave their last full measure” to protect and defend our democratic way of living, our belief that “all men are created equal” is a work in progress that we must keep working towards, that the freedoms guaranteed us in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights are to be followed and never be ripped apart-no matter what Vought, Miller, Kushner, Vance and, of course, Donald say and do. I am wondering how the Republicans in the Senate and the House can celebrate our veterans while continuing to tear down the very freedoms, the democratic way of being that they died for? What are the lies Lindsey Graham has to tell himself to defend the Republican abdication of their duty to serve, protect and defend the Constitution that John McCain-his good friend (supposedly)- served time in the “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp to protect and defend in Vietnam? What are the lies we the people are telling ourselves that prevent us from rising up as We the People did in the late 50’s and 60’s?
A Country Pastor, a group/person on Facebook, that my wife Harriet has turned me on to, wrote yesterday about Balaam and his Ass. The Ass saw what the great seer, the prophet of God could not-the danger ahead- probably because he had visions of riches in his head, he saw his retirement being fully funded, and he sort of got approval from God to go ahead. Yet, because of his visions of no more financial worries, he didn’t hear clearly and decisively that he could only speak the words God gives him and not the words that Balak wants him to speak. The same seems to be true in our politics today, and do not think for a moment that the Bible is not Political, that Judaism isn’t political because they both give us ways to live a decent lifestyle, ways to be of service to one another and to God/universe, ways to grow our inner life and learn how to live in cognitive dissonance, live into the Both/And of “this is true and this is true”. What is really interesting in this story is that the Ass knew what his mind didn’t, this may be the first example of not being able to “save your ass and your face at the same time”!
It gives a whole new meaning to “talking out of your ass” as well. In this story, the Ass speaks truth, the Ass sees the danger, the Ass tries to protect the idiot that is riding it, thinking that the Ass is only there to do his bidding, that Balaam believes he can hit it unmercifully, he can be cruel to it because it is impeding his drive for riches and fame. Does this sound like anything that is happening now? Of course it does and the real question is: what are we the people going to do to stop the attack on what the brave men and women throughout our history have given their lives to defend? What are We the People going to do to ensure the principles and ideals like “certain unalienable rights” grow and flourish instead of being thrown away as the powers that be are trying to do right now? Maybe the person we are calling an Ass is the truth teller, the warning from God, the prophet we don’t want to hear nor listen to? Maybe we should be paying more attention to our Ass than to our rational mind, to the lies we tell ourselves and to being less oblivious to what really is happening. Ending our self-deception ain’t easy and it is the only path to freedom of self, freedom for another(s), acknowledging the infinite dignity within our Self and every other Self!
Watching the world I fought for as a teenager, the world my father and uncles fought for in World War II, the friends who fought in Vietnam, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, the ones who made it back with such inner scaring, some even took their lives from their experience over there, come apart because of greed, of lust for power, because of a Bastardization of Christ’s words and deeds, a Bastardization of the Bible, is so very painful. Watching Recovery from Addiction treatment centers become big business rather than serving the needs of people, seeing them as individuals, hurts my heart. Knowing that we are in need of a Prophet, in need of a Moses, Jesus, Mohammed like person, another MLK type, another Ben Franklin and knowing how difficult it is to be heard when you are like Amos, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, makes some people give up hope. WRONG! This is the moment to infuse hope into the conversation with yourself, this is the moment to find the Ass that you can ride to vision, to hearing, to being safe and being a SERVANT of God! This is the challenge, the solution.
ACTION STEPS:
Make a list of the times when looking good was more important than being good
Make a list of the Ass’ who have told you to get on their back, ride their coattails to a richer and more meaning full life
Raise your hand to salute the myriads of soldiers who gave their lives so we can live free, the myriad of social activists who dedicated their lives to the proposition: All people are created equal, having certain unalienable rights.
God Bless and Stop Ghosting God, Stop Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark