Pure Harmony, Beauty, Truth, and Compassion: 17 Days of the Omer
Today is seventeen days, which is two weeks and three days of the Omer in the year 5783. תפארת שבתפארת. Harmony within Harmony. Beauty within Beauty. Truth within Truth. Compassion within Compassion. Today is the pure essence of Tiferet: where this emanation of the Divine shines through its own prism.
Balance is Hard
Connecting to the exact synthesis of Grace and Strength, Love and Limits, might feel impossible.
True Harmony may feel as illusive as True Beauty.
The Truth keeps slipping through our fingers.
Compassion is in short supply.
Focusing on the Inner World
I cannot control that most people won’t face the ongoing threat of the ever-changing Covid virus.
I cannot insist that anyone else explores spiritual discipline.
I cannot make another person pause for their soul.
I can acknowledge my own health limitations.
I can be gentle with myself when I don’t live up to my ideal level of spiritual discipline.
I can choose to pause for my own soul.
Be a Harbinger of Truth With Compassion
The value my family of origin holds most dear is Truth.
We tend to be blunt, and sometimes hurtful, in the name of being honest.
Every day, I have a new opportunity to stretch my compassion muscle.
Every day, my world is expanded by the presence of other souls.
Look Inward Before Looking Outward
Tikkun Olam is about transforming the worlds within ourselves.
The goal is to repair the cracks in our internal lives.
There is brokenness within everyone.
Our sacred, lifelong duty, is to confront that brokenness and repair it.
Healing ourselves heals the world.
Don’t Stand on a High Horse. Sit with Neighbors.
The genius of Saul Alinsky wasn’t creating institutions.
He listened to people.
He created space for neighbors to build bridges with one another.
To organize for change they could all agree with.
Societal harmony requires understanding how to let go and live with imperfection.
Read More About Seventeen Days of the Omer
Autonomy in the Balance, The end of Bodily Autonomy in the United States 2022 / 5782
Compassion and the Self-Reflective Act of Prayer, 2021 / 5781
Explore the depths and limits of truth, 2020 / 5780
Synthesizing grace and judgment, 2019 / 5779
Image by Alain Audet via Pixabay.
