Lovingkindness within Eternity, 22 Days of Omer, Chesed ShebeNetzach

Today is twenty-two days, which is three weeks and one day of the Omer in the year 5781. חסד שבנצח, Chesed ShebeNetzach, Lovingkindness within Eternity.

Entering the Week of Eternity, Will, and Victory

נצח, Netzach, is a noun that means eternity. The shoresh, the three letters of the noun are also the Hebrew root for winning. This is a week to begin creating concrete manifestations of our path toward spiritual liberation. After three weeks of heady meditation, now is the time to determine how I want to act in the coming year. How will I create the will to embrace eternity?

Letting go of bad habits

I am not denouncing the self who spent hours watching mindless YouTube videos. Nor am I castigating myself for my pandemic purchases of fleeting ephemeral enjoyment. Though I recognize that wasting time and money are perpetual Achilles heels, there is something deeper I choose to contemplate this week.

Instead, I choose to look at how I articulate my political convictions verbally. Within online communities, there is a strong bias against tone policing. Yet, that is not the same cultural expectation in all circumstances. I have encountered people who have trouble hearing my words because they are reacting to my tone. My forceful articulation of political opinions does not always sound open to hearing alternative points of view. Though I am not convinced that my righteous indignation needs to be thrown out, I welcome the opportunity to explore alternative forms of communication.

Certainly, I do not enter all conversations with eyes of lovingkindness. My eternal will must begin from grace if I am to become who I choose to be. Without rejecting my convictions, I choose to let go of the eternal political activist within in order to make space for the emerging spiritual leader. To be clear, I do not believe I should stop being politically active. Rather, I choose to center myself in a different persona while fighting for a better world.