Toward the Future

No question, contemplation is what I do best.

Going on a picnic, I notice the land: Were the grass or trees sprayed with pesticides? Is there trash scattered? Are the trees indigenous to the land where they are planted? What kind of trash are we creating while outside? Are we walking gently enough to honor the earth?

Try going shopping with me:  Are the isles wheelchair accessible? Have the clothing or objects been made using slave-labor? How are the workers being treated?  Are people smoking outside the doorway?

Now forget eating out at a restaurant: How much trash is being created? Is the food prepared with local and/or organic food?  Can I inconspicuously say prayers before and after I eat? And if I don’t remember, I berate myself just fine.  Oh and let’s not forget that I prefer vegetarian, I am celiac, and I have to watch my sodium intake.  ☺

Some might say I am contemplative; some might say I take myself way too seriously.  Is there an alternative? I don’t think so!!!  I believe in conscious living at every turn.  It doesn’t mean that I eat only organic vegetables when I am out, it does mean that I consider each and every choice I make.  I NEVER stop thinking.

How are people treating each other? Is there recycling located near by? Are we depending too much on recycling as opposed to creating less trash?  How far do I have to travel to get some place? Are we using too much natural resources by doing whatever it is we are doing? The list of things I consider is endless.  I am also incredibly hard on myself as I consider that which I have yet to do.  I carry a water bottle, but I also buy packaged drinks.  I love chocolate and sometimes I buy chocolate that uses slave-labor instead of fair-trade.  I am far from perfect, but I am conscious; I try to improve in my choices regularly.  I also realize that I can’t take on every cause just yet.

As we face Tisha B’Av today, I am aware of the enormous loss that occurred not only in Jerusalem, but for the Jewish people as a whole.  It also stands as a holy day when we remember the destruction of the First and Second Temple, the decimation of so many Jewish lives, and the dispersion of our people.  As we reflect upon this time of bitter sadness and loss, many of us will also choose to work towards healing all that has occurred and doing our part to creating a better world.

Choose to live consciously as a Jew, as a human being – we can learn from each and every destructive time in history.  Yes we mourn the stories we hear, but if we are to survive, it is our job to find tools for living into the future.  We don’t always have the answers, but if we are thoughtful in our actions, we might move forward and fill the world with a little piece of light.

The Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast is agonizing to our environment, the people that live close by, anyone who’s livelihood depends on the that area.  How can we handle such a dark period of time? How can we move forward?  It isn’t easy, in fact it is a challenge, but we can move forward.  We can educate ourselves about where we purchase our gas; I have a long list of places I do not buy gas from.  We can donate money to environmental groups that will ultimately help the area.  And we can chant and send healing energy to the land, the animals, and the oceans.  The list of what we can do is endless, but we have to actively be working towards repairing each and every part of the world that touches us.

My hope is that each of us find some cause that moves us and drives us towards creating the light.

Nearly every day I pray, sometimes more prayers and sometimes less, but I always reflect on the words in the second paragraph of the Aleynu, l’taken olam b’malchut shadai, which I interpret to mean that it is our job “to repair the world in (for) Gd’s kingdom.”  What does that mean during our time of reflecting on the destruction of much of the Jewish world.  Answering the question isn’t so simple, but essentially it is my job, all of our jobs, to do all that I can to repair not only the Jewish world, but the world at large.  I am constantly considering what it means to be a “light unto the nations”.

When you actively do your part to improve the world, each action leads to a stronger connection to the life-force that exists.  Visualizing a healthy world is much more precious when you are doing your part to consciously make a difference.  There are so many ways to make a difference; if you haven’t already found something that moves you, just pick something for now and then look for something that is more meaningful as you move forward.   I think it is all of our obligations to bring light into the world.

Yearning for what was or what could be doesn’t make the world a better place; actively doing something to change the world, no matter how small, that makes the world a better place.    Mahatma Gandhi put it simply when he said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”