A story … some realizations … a tender ‘memory … and some conclusions.
Faith: One day, in a town troubled by drought for many months, villagers decided to gather and pray for rain. On the appointed day, the people gathered. One little boy came with an umbrella. Faith. That’s faith. Trust: Have you ever noticed that when you toss babies up in the air, they laugh? That’s because they know you’ll catch them. Trust. That’s trust.
Attitude: When my husband turned 85, he delighted in wearing a shirt that read “I am not 85 years old. I am sweet 16 with 69 years of experience!” Attitude. That’s attitude.
Humour: When we were children, naptime was often regarded as punishment. Now an afternoon nap is like a mini-vacation. Humour. That’s humour.
Hope: Each night, we go to bed without any assurance that we’ll be alive the next day. And yet how often do we still set the alarm to wake up in the morning? Hope. That’s hope.
Confidence: In spite of zero-knowledge that there will be a tomorrow, we still plan events, meetings, appointments in our agendas / daytimers / phones. Confidence. That’s confidence.
Love: The world is suffering and many consider the future to be bleak. Yet people still marry and have children. Love. That’s love.
May we live each day with Faith, Trust, Hope, Confidence, Love, Attitude and Humour. 🙂
A sunset – yes, a sunset! And no, it’s not a black and white photo. That’s just how it looked that particular night at Yellow Point on Vancouver Island – expansive, beautiful, and breath-taking. The beauty of the sunset with its stark sky, water and land reminded me of a phrase our Jewish brothers and sisters use: Tikkun Olam.
Tikkun Olam describes how humanity is called to respond to a world by participating in repairing the world and mending what is broken. More than that, Tikkun Olam incorporates a call to make the world better than it was before it was damaged.
As I stood at the water’s edge that night, watching the sun set, images of our broken world because of climate change, pollution, environmental damage, anger, shattered relationships, abusive leaders, injustice, and more, flashed before my eyes. I wondered about the hope that is in the concept of Tikkun Olam. I remembered how collective actions can bring about repairing the earth through restoration, through reconciliation, through small acts (of love, kindness, solidarity with other people, animals, plant life, oceans, skies and other places on earth), and through larger acts (of social justice and environmental awareness). And I remembered that every person’s life provides an opportunity for tikkun olam … and that each tikkun has the potential to bring about change.
I thought of people like Malala Yousafzai… Martin Luther King Jr … Rosa Parks … Jesus of Nazareth … Joan of Ark … Jonas Salk … Florence Nightingale … Isaac Newton … Eleanor Roosevelt … Beethoven … Rachel Carson … Wangari Maathi … and the question arose within me: “Where would the world be today without each of them?” They and others, made an impact on this world. Each of us can, too. No matter how intellectually gifted, spiritually inclined, physically able-bodied each of us is or is not, we can contribute to the common good and to the creation of a world where justice, integrity, caring, compassion and peace are present in some way each day.
It was just a sunset that night, but it had me thinking – thinking about Tikkun Olam and how I can be more responsive to such a call in my daily living.
How can Tikkun Olam enter your thoughts and action?
When the busyness of life grabs us, or when we think we have no time, energy, creative juice or zest for life, perhaps it is time to ask ourselves “Where’s the balance?” Maybe we don’t allow ourselves to simply “be” and instead, we focus on ourselves as a “human do-ing” rather than a “human be-ing.”
Instead of doing things which drain us to the point that the passion-to-create or the desire to spend quality time with self/family/close friends is no longer paramount (or maybe even existent) in our daily activity, maybe it’s time to give ourselves the gift of Presence. A time when we nurture our Spirit … are gentle with ourselves … breathe in calm, peace and healing; breathe out anxiety, fear and pain.
Maybe it’s time to recognize that we don’t have to “do it all” … that saying “no” or “not at this time” is exercising wisdom … and that acknowledging our vulnerability isn’t weakness, but strength in self-awareness.
Giving the gift of Presence to ourselves can become the catalyst for the precious balance so necessary to a life where the spirit grows, personhood evolves and healing, health and wholeness can emerge. May we give ourselves the Gift of Presence this coming week.
Whether it’s listening to music, recommending a restaurant, listening to the opinion of another, politics, religion, looking at art, we all have our own perspective, our own viewpoint, our own experience of what we see / hear / taste / feel.
When I created this ZenDoodle long ago while waiting to see a doctor, it was as it is in the first photo – sideways. Sitting beside me was a fellow who, after watching me doodle, said “How about putting a hat on him?” “A hat?” “Yes, a hat” he replied.
Clearly, I didn’t “see” what the fellow was seeing. But when he leaned over, he took the corner of my little zendoodle and turned it around. I “saw” the image he was seeing. I doodled a little ‘tam’ hat.
Tonight, it seems, that whether I watch a U.S. channel or a Canadian channel or British channel, they’re all talking about the latest “breaking news” … the release of the Mueller report. And while the focus is on the Mueller report and “what could it possibly contain,” very little attention is being paid to the Mozambique cyclone which has devastated that country. If you do an internet search on ‘Mozambique cyclone March 22, 2019, you’ll see what is happening there. When the Mueller report is released, media will form opinions. Family, friends, co-works, neighbours will form opinions. Each of us will form an opinion.
Life’s Lessons are all around us and the little zendoodled fellow has become a gentle reminder that what is seen isn’t always what others see; what is heard isn’t always what others hear; what is experienced isn’t always what others are experiencing, even in the same situation.
It was a full moon. And as I took this photo, I found myself delighting in the wonder of the globe in the sky that shone so brightly – until hidden by clouds.
How often our light is hidden by the clouds we encounter in our lives – clouds of fear, isolation, loneliness, sadness, grief.
In those moments, our light hasn’t gone out. It’s just covered up and waiting for the time when whatever clouds we are experiencing will pass and our light will shine once again.
Thank you Madame Moon, for shining, for teaching, for existing, and for giving hope – in a new way.
