I reread this wonderful little book by Rachel Naomi Remen yesterday. Remen shares a story that her Grandfather used to tell her when she was a child.
This Jewish story, so very similar to the creation story of Kabbalah, a mystic branch of Judaism, is particularly lovely as it speaks to the value of Tikkun Olam, or translated, the restoration/repair of the world.
This story inspires a practical, lived, spiritual practice which can be experienced and practiced by just about anyone, anywhere.
Paraphrase of the story goes ...
In the beginning, there was only holy darkness, the source of all things. In the course of history, at a moment in time, our world, the world of many thousands of things, emerged from the heart of the holy darkness as a great ray of light.
The source of all things continued to pour its immenseness into this ray of light. But because of its vast weightiness and density, the ray of light could not contain it. It broke. It shattered. Thousands of fragments of light were scattered throughout the vastness. In the fullness of time, they fell into all things and all people, where still some remain deeply hidden until this very day.
Our collective task is to keep our hearts and eyes open for these fragments of light hidden in others and within the whole of creation. To find those fragments of light that life circumstances may have graffitied over and to lift them above our heads, sharing them with the world for its collective healing. As a part of this world, an expression of great love and light, we are invited to be repairers or co-healers of the world by simply raising the (our) light.
Thanks for reading Michael M. Rose! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
A few ideas ...
- Live awake - resist the drone of life that lulls you to sleep and oblivious to what is happening around you.
- Look for beauty - look for the rays of light that manifest as beauty, pause, celebrate and savour it.
- Practice our faith - to practice our spirituality is a way of lifting the light above our heads. Or said another way, Love well, in all that you do stretch towards love.
- Call out, coax out beauty, courage, and love from others - People need to be encouraged and recognized for their light.
This story opens a host of possibilities for engaging in life awake. It’s not about over-the-top heroism by making a single seismic difference; rather, it’s about a lifestyle of being aware of the everyday opportunities for healing the parts of the world that you come in contact with as a part of living your life.
In these ways and others, we partner with God in the ongoing work of creation. It reminds us that our choices and actions matter. These include actions of social justice and advocacy for the voiceless and powerless. It calls us to heartful stewardship of the environment and all those who share the planet with us. It is an entangled embodiment of the Divine within us individually, collectively in community (with others and the entire earth), and cosmologically - towards differentiating union, wholeness and the fullness of Love. The fulfillment of the Divine dream - to gather up all things in him (Love), things in heaven and things on earth.