SO, I guess on the weekends blogging gets tougher - with the different schedule and with the fact that as a rabbi, I've been working most of the weekend, and I'm still learning that balance. But rather than just move past the last couple of days. Though I haven't written about them yet, they have a lot of meaning, so I'll incorporate them all together in this post.
THE OMER INTERSECTION: Chod + Nitzach, Chod, and Yesod - Humility mixed in with endurance, humility, and today's actual intersection, bonding:
As we build back up to today's intersection, let's at least run through the others from the past few days:
Humility and Endurance - What are the challenges to sustaining our humility? When are there moments in which we are tempted to ignore our humility and act with brashness? Do these lapses in humility take us away from the person we are trying to be? Sometimes, we choose in the short term to respond with ego instead of taking a step back and allowing our humility to give us the patience to endure. One of the most common scenarios in which we respond in such a way is the inclination to say, "I'll just do it myself" when someone else struggles, doesn't fully follow through, does something differently than we would, etc. There is nothing humble about "I'll just do it myself," even when we think we're doing it to be helpful to others. Not that there is never an appropriate time for such a response, but we probably all do this more often than we should.
Humility and Humility - What holds us back from being humble? Is it the vulnerability of allowing myself to reflect and see where I may have made mistakes as opposed to blaming everything on someone or something else? Do I see my humility as central to my ego, making it not so much an expression of letting go of ego, but rather making it a central part of who I am? When we are humble because we think we should be, we are making our response about us rather than about the bigger issue going on. This intersection from the lag B'Omer (which was today - more on that soon) requires us to remember to keep our focus on that which is outside ourselves
Humility and Bonding - Sometimes, when we respond from a place of humility, we can feel a bit lonely. To walk a path of humility sometimes requires us to suppress certain things we might want to say but would not be productive for our cause, our community, and ultimately ourselves. Examples of such experiences include times when we hear private things about someone else that the other would not want us to share or when we end up looking bad when someone else does not follow-through as expected. To share such details would make us feel better in the short-term, but we might regret such actions later. Our intersection for this evening and Monday challenges us to rethink our reactions to such situations. We have to recognize that in such cases, the drive to share with others can be a bit more about our own egos. Because we are so worried about that part of ourselves, we might feel alienated and separate when acting on our humility. But, if we let go of the ego, chalk it all up to a part of the bigger picture, and act in ways to support others and work more closely with others, these moments of humility can actually bring us closer together.
THE OMER CHALLENGE:
For this day, when we have a moment in which we are tempted to assign blame to someone or something else, stop. Whether in speaking to someone else or just in contemplating a situation for ourselves - let us instead take responsibility for being a part of the solution, working with others and bringing them closer. Excuses can push people away, even when legitimate. There are times for excuses, but for today, let's not make this one of those times.
Shavua Tov!
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