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check out: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/when-a-brain-scientist-suffers-a-stroke/
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Lessons on Preparation 5/18
Hearing is a vital part of a spiritual life. Hearing, whether with ears, or mind or soul, leads to learning Creator's instructions for how to live a life in tune with this eternal source of love. This week I learned about an instruction that has maybe almost never has been fully carried out; to leave all the fields in Israel (about the size of New Jersey) fallow, at rest for a full year once every seven years. No tilling the soil, no pruning vines, no sowing seed. What a leap of faith! God promised that people would be fed in much the same way as the manna fell for a double portion on the day before Shabbat. But not cultivating the soil for a year requires an extreme level of faith and commitment. Faith is an essential component of a spirit connected life but a year's worth of food could mean mass starvation.
It's called a Shabbat for the land. As I thought about this I realized it would theoretically be doable with some safety if the farmers took great care and attention to prepare for this event. Keeping the weeds out in the previous years would be important. In the sixth year leaving things to flower and to go to seed naturally would make sense. This is similar to a Jew preparing for Shabbat or any family or friends getting together to have a special dinner. The day before bread needs to be baked and before that supplies need to be brought. This is not something that can be really done well spontaneously. Shabbat in particular is a time for rest and connecting with God. But also important in bringing holiness into the world is the days, or years before in which we plan and do things that make the Shabbat, whether of the week or of the land, possible and pleasant. The lesson for me was that like a stone plopped into a pond, one event, Shabbat, initiates ripples (preparation) which moves the holiness out into the world. However we set time apart in our day or week or years to bringing holiness into the world brings that connection to Creator into our lives not only through the actual moment but the preparation that leads up to it.
The second lesson I learned was just as Shabbat or setting aside times of prayer leads to ripples of preparation, it is the preparation itself that makes Shabbat and those moments possible in the first place. Preparation involves clearly seeing options, planning, teamwork, cooperation and coordination. The later it is in the process the more vital to do as much as we can. It's not unusual for me to leave far too many details to the last minute. And what if our lives on this material, finite level are simply preparation for a life in eternity? Imagine sand running through an hour glass. At some point each of us reaches the end of this life, at some point humans will get to a point of spiritual transition. How do we prepare for that spiritual connection that breaks though all our limitations? Some would say Learn Torah and do Teshuva and mitzvot. In other words, do what we do to hear Creator's instructions, turn our life around in all the ways we need forgiveness and come back to Spirit, do acts of kindness, good deeds, and love, love each other and above all else love the Divine Presence, all those things that God asks of us.
Time might be short. What if we are down to the last few grains of sand in the hour glass? Who can know for sure. Its better to be prepared and have more time then not be prepared and have time run out. And regardless of where we are in the cycle of enlightenment, prioritizing prayer, cleaning-up and repairing those places where we need to make amends and spread kindness and compassion where ever we go will prepare us for eternity, redemption or at least abundant blessings in our lives. We will never pass this way again. What could be more important?
It's called a Shabbat for the land. As I thought about this I realized it would theoretically be doable with some safety if the farmers took great care and attention to prepare for this event. Keeping the weeds out in the previous years would be important. In the sixth year leaving things to flower and to go to seed naturally would make sense. This is similar to a Jew preparing for Shabbat or any family or friends getting together to have a special dinner. The day before bread needs to be baked and before that supplies need to be brought. This is not something that can be really done well spontaneously. Shabbat in particular is a time for rest and connecting with God. But also important in bringing holiness into the world is the days, or years before in which we plan and do things that make the Shabbat, whether of the week or of the land, possible and pleasant. The lesson for me was that like a stone plopped into a pond, one event, Shabbat, initiates ripples (preparation) which moves the holiness out into the world. However we set time apart in our day or week or years to bringing holiness into the world brings that connection to Creator into our lives not only through the actual moment but the preparation that leads up to it.
The second lesson I learned was just as Shabbat or setting aside times of prayer leads to ripples of preparation, it is the preparation itself that makes Shabbat and those moments possible in the first place. Preparation involves clearly seeing options, planning, teamwork, cooperation and coordination. The later it is in the process the more vital to do as much as we can. It's not unusual for me to leave far too many details to the last minute. And what if our lives on this material, finite level are simply preparation for a life in eternity? Imagine sand running through an hour glass. At some point each of us reaches the end of this life, at some point humans will get to a point of spiritual transition. How do we prepare for that spiritual connection that breaks though all our limitations? Some would say Learn Torah and do Teshuva and mitzvot. In other words, do what we do to hear Creator's instructions, turn our life around in all the ways we need forgiveness and come back to Spirit, do acts of kindness, good deeds, and love, love each other and above all else love the Divine Presence, all those things that God asks of us.
Time might be short. What if we are down to the last few grains of sand in the hour glass? Who can know for sure. Its better to be prepared and have more time then not be prepared and have time run out. And regardless of where we are in the cycle of enlightenment, prioritizing prayer, cleaning-up and repairing those places where we need to make amends and spread kindness and compassion where ever we go will prepare us for eternity, redemption or at least abundant blessings in our lives. We will never pass this way again. What could be more important?
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