Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 91
Reading the newspaper, listening to the news, watching the pundits all leave me wanting. Wanting for TRUTH, for REAL, for decency, for kindness, for stopping our consistent “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” as Einstein teaches us the definition of Insanity. Yet, We the People find new, interesting, novel ways of living and promoting the insanity of staying stuck, staying the same.
Ghosting God, for those who are not aware of how I am using this phrase, is any and every time we the people turn our backs on doing the next right thing, every time, we the people refuse to “lift up our eyes and see”, every time we engage in handwringing rather than SEE the water, the path, the way to being free that is all around us, as what happened with Hagar. We the People Ghost God every time we the people go along with those who “have plundered many nations”, every time we go along with those “who gets evil gain for his house”, every time we join in the “shame” we bring onto ourselves by “cutting off many people”. We the People Ghost God every time we have “sinned against our souls” according to the prophet Habakkuk in the 2nd chapter of his book verses 8-10. Of course we the people have decided to not pay attention to the teachings of the prophets, the words God had them speak, the inner rot of We the People that was happening in Judea prior to the Destruction of the 1st Temple and the exile to Babylonia. Of course, we the people have determined that no matter how reminiscent the words being spoken now by our ‘fine christian nationalist friends’ on the right nor the assurances of ‘our equally fine progressive socialist friends’ on the left are of Nazi Germany, no matter the words of Spain in the 15th century seem to coming from the mouths of “Der Fuhrer”, Donald Trump, no matter how the actions of hating the stranger, making fun of the weak, the poor, the needy happens, THIS IS NOT THE SAME-according to many of we the people. Really, how foolish.
Of course, whenever and wherever we Ghost God, we also Ghost our authentic Self. This is the issue that has faced humanity since the beginning, from the time Adam hid from God after eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is the first recorded time that a human being Ghosted God and the Bible is replete with how often this has happened. The entire story of the prophets as a body of work is the story of human beings Ghosting God for their own supposed gain. Of course the truth is they did experience more wealth, more power, and more fealty. All of this at the cost of the dignity of we the people, all this at the cost of what would befall future generations. What relevance could those stories of antiquity have for us, many of we the people ask. This is how easy the descent into Insanity is: asking the most ridiculous, inane, and wrong questions, getting the ‘right’ answers to these ridiculous, wrong questions and then proceeding from this faulty foundation. The descent into believing the lies of the powerful, the mendacity of the false prophets who call themselves ‘servants of god’ in their ministries, in their pulpits, and-worse of all- believing our own self-deceptions so we can ‘get ours’.
The Chaos, the Insanity, the Cruelty of this moment cannot be solved, cannot be defeated by our rational minds! The only possible way to defeat these “Deadly Sins” is through a spiritual renewal, through an authentic connection with the Power Greater than Ourselves that some of us call God. Only by hearing the Call, by listening to the Voice, by understanding what is being demanded of We the People can we end the rottenness in the world today. Only through the work of Elul, the need to clean our houses, to make our amends, to change the narrative we tell ourselves, to let go of the lies and self-deceptions we use as warm blankets can We the People join with the dictates of the Bible, the words and deeds of Jesus and CELEBRATE God, REVERE God, WALK in God’s WAYS, LOVE MERCY, DO JUSTLY, etc. This is the challenge for all of We the People!I During this period, the end of Av, the month of Elul, the 10 days of Return, We the People are given an extra dose of Grace to accept with clarity the things we have done and those we haven’t on both sides of the ledger-good and not so good. The technology to right ourselves is found in our writing the truth to and about ourselves. The question, as always, is: How many of We the People will use this extra dose of Grace to change, to repair, to reconnect with God, with those we have harmed and give forgiveness to those who seek it and reconnect with them? I have been doing this for 38+years and I keep finding new ways to see old behaviors, to understand the impact on another(s), and to make things as right as possible. I also know the sadness of people who just don’t want anything to do with me, no matter how much I had helped them in the past. When we allow 1 “oh shit” to wipe our 1000 ‘atta boys’, we are Ghosting God, Ghosting Self.
ACTION STEP: Do an Inventory of how you “walk in God’s ways and you don’t
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark