“We Rise”*
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Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now.
You are not obligated to complete the work,
But neither are you free to abandon it. –
Oh
My
Goodness.
Is there
Anything
Else to say?
How easy it is
To be
Overwhelmed,
To be
Daunted
By the world’s
Grief?
How easy
It is to
Scan
Headlines
With
Half
And
Eye,
Protecting
Ourselves
From
The impact
Of
The
News?
The
Tightening
Of the
World
Presses
Upon us.
And here
It is.
The prescription
For living
From ions
Ago.
The Talmud,
The essence
Of Jewish
Dialoguing
Over
Millenium,
Debating
And
Discussing
How
To
Live,
How
To
Manage
The
Contradictions,
How to
Continue
To show up,
No
Matter what
Life
Is giving
Us.
Isn’t
Everything
We might
Need
For
Guidance
Live
Right here,
In these
Few
Lines
Of
Wisdom?
~~~
Hold the phone!
Says the coach
In me.
Wait
One
Moment.
What will
It look like,
Dear friends?
To love justly?
What will that
Be in your life?
BE SPECIFIC,
Says the coach
In me.
To love mercy.
How can you
Lean in
That
Direction?
To walk
Humbly?
Tell me,
Tell us,
Tell yourself—
How?
What will
That
Look like
In your day?
~~~
Today?
This day.
Right here
Right now.
All of the
Inspiration
And
Commitment
On
The
Planet
Will not sustain,
Without right action.
What is your
Right
Use
Of
Will?
How?
When?
For how long?
What will it
Look like?
~~~
What I know
Is this:
All of the inspiration
On the planet
Is empty
And
Unsustainable
Without
Action.
Please consider.
How do
You
Choose
To show up?
At home?
At work?
At the polls?
In the grocery store?
In traffic?
Who do
You
Choose
To be?
~~~
I choose
As best I can,
One day
At a time,
To be
An inspiration.
I choose to
Be Kind.
I choose
To listen,
Without
Trying
To change.
I choose
To see
The beauty,
The grace,
Amongst
The heartbreak.
And when I am not able,
I choose
To bless
Myself
And
To
Return
To my
Practice.
~~~
Oh, dear friends. Listen to this song, please:
We Rise
Thank you and blessings to Batya Levine, communal song leader, musician, Jewish prayer leader and cultural organizer.
To find out more about her work: Information Here
~~~
Dear Friends,
In Batya’s words—
In hope,
In prayer,
We find ourselves.
We are right here.
We rise.
Stay blessed,
Aruni
*Title by Batya Levine