It is so good to remember God every moment.
And if you can't remember God, remember death.
Death will bring you there.
~Bhagavan Das

Knitting a Sweater
By Denny Davis

I spent my whole life knitting a sweater
with no pattern or instructions.
I used dull, bent needles and poor quality yarn.
However I worked very hard
to make the best sweater I could possibly make.

After 53 years I ended up with something
that was not at all like I had envisioned.
It was poorly fitting -
so tight it restricted my movements,
very uncomfortable and irritating,
a dull, dreary color
with many dropped stitches.

I decided I would unravel it just a bit
and try to fix it a little -
pick up some dropped stitches,
improve the pattern,
maybe add some color.


However things got out of hand
and it started to unravel on its own
in spite of my attempts to stop it.

You might think I would be glad
to see such a poor quality sweater destroyed.
However I have very mixed feelings about it.
In the first place it was the only sweater I had.
It was far from perfect, even ugly,
but it did keep out some of the drafts
and it was known and familiar.

Now the only thing to do is to start over.

The problem is that I still have no pattern,
and I still have the same dull, bent needles
and poor quality yarn to work with.
If I try again I might well end up with
the same kind of sweater as before.
And even if I do a little better
I am not sure if it is worth the effort.

Maybe it would be easier just to stay cold.

I was born and baptised Episcopalian, converted to Reform Judaism during my first marriage, reverted back to a not-necessarily practicing Episcopalian, I'm a Christian "pluralist" (I am a follower of Jesus--not necessarily a "believer" in a lot of the myths around him; recognize many different valid paths to enlightenment etc) and I'm not a Scriptural Literalist. I married my Hindu husband by a Unitarian minister, and I've been very interested in Hindu chants and centering/meditation, and have always believed in the "Light Within" that both Hindus and Quakers believe.

I'm all kinds of mixed up!

I don't know what to do as dad's (death) anniversary date is coming up. Do I celebrate All Souls/Day of the Dead? Do I light a yizkor candle and chant the mourner's kaddish? Do I go to a Hindu temple and do whatever they do on the death anniversary of a parent? All three seem natural to me. Do I pick one? Do I do all three?

The death of a parent does not come with a "to do list" or a manual. I'm so lost.

Crumbs on the water
Casting out sins and regrets
Drifting forgiveness

Unfathomable
Succeed and fail together
Our fates are inscribed

To our lives and health
Investing ourselves, earnestly
Ahavat, shalom


9/18/09
Rosh Hashana
(c) S.F. "Maven"

Posted by Joel Osteen Ministries on FB Today

By Way of Remembrance

Today at 9:59am

Today’s Verse: “I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance” (II Peter 1:13, AMP).

Today’s Word:

Do you know that when we dwell on the wrong things, it affects our moods? We get down, discouraged, and lose our hope. Some people today don’t have the joy and the enthusiasm God wants them to have because they are constantly dwelling on negative things.

But if we want to be in the position to take hold of all that God has in store for us, we have to stir ourselves up by changing our thinking. Instead of dwelling on and remembering all the bad things that have happened in life, you have to remember all the good things God has done for you. Every time you give God praise, every time you sing a song of victory, you are acknowledging and remembering His goodness. You are causing your mind to focus on what He’s done for you. And, I’m convinced one reason the scripture tells us to bless the Lord at all times is because you can’t praise and complain at the same time!

I encourage you today, stay proactive. Don’t become passive in your thought life. Don’t let your guard down. Keep stirring yourself up by remembering His faithfulness and watch what He will do on your behalf!

Prayer for Today: Father in heaven, today I choose to keep my mind focused on Your goodness. Thank You for Your grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus so that I can live in victory. I bless and praise You today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

[...]

The Hassidic perspective of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi based on the teachings of the Zohar implores one to "repay the offenders with favors":

"So, too, in matters affecting a person's relations with his fellow, as soon as there rises from his heart to his mind any animosity or hatred, G-d forbid, or jealousy, anger, or a grudge and the like, he allows them no entrance into his mind and will. On the contrary, his mind exercises its authority and power over the feelings in his heart to do the very opposite, namely, to conduct himself towards his fellow with the quality of kindness and a display of abundant love to the extreme limits, without becoming provoked into anger, G-d forbid, or to revenge in kind, G-d forbid, but rather to repay the offenders with favors, as taught in the Zohar, that one should learn from the example of Yosef [Joseph] towards his brothers." (Tanya, ch. 12)