Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Iyar, 5785
39th Day of the Omer
Good morning! As we are heading for the final stretch of the Omer – are we making each day “count?” How are we marking this period of our lives?
Today’s Theme is the “Determination of Bonding” or the “Endurance of Attachment.”
The connection here is what we hold sacred.
Have we reflected on what we hold sacred? For me? It is inner peace. What will I do to maintain this inner peace?
When it comes to attachments, can I keep my inner peace, leave the door open for attachments and bonds to continue without needing reciprocation? Being able to hold the space that the attachment for a particular moment may not be reciprocal, while at the same time holding open the possibility for it to reopen in the future?
Something I read this morning in Mark Nepo’s “The Book of Awakening” speaks to this:
“Withstanding the tension between opposites until we know it is “enough” releases us from the swing between one extreme and the other.” – Helen Luke
“So often we feel for others and lose ourselves, or cut others off to preserve ourselves. Like a radio that can only tune to one station at a time, it seems like only one side of things can be received, though all sides are broadcast.”
“But compassion is a deeper thing that waits beyond the tension of choosing sides. Compassion, in practice, does not require us to give up the truth of what we feel or the truth of our reality. Nor does it allow us to minimize the humanity of those who hurt us. Rather, we are asked to know ourselves enough that we can stay open to the truth of others, even when their truth or their inability to live up to their truth has hurt us.”
I read this and think – this is the “magic” stuff that helps us hold this space of endurance or determination as we navigate bonds and attachments that may be challenged in a particular moment. How do we hold space without having to choose sides? To hold a multiversal view of reality – allowing space for all realities to coalesce within our own?
This is what moves us to the next moment, and the next; until we walk each step in this multiversal reality.
These are my thoughts. What about you?
Here are my thoughts from a year ago:
Today is ALSO the 39th day of the Omer. We are counting up to Shavuot. Today’s theme is the Determination of Bonding. From Chabad:
An essential component of bonding is its endurance. Its ability to withstand challenges and setbacks. Without endurance there is no chance to develop true bonding.
Am I totally committed to the one I bond with? How much will I endure and how ready am I to fight to maintain this bond? Is the person I bond with aware of my devotion?
Exercise for the day: Demonstrate the endurance level of your bonding by confronting a challenge that obstructs the bond.
Bonding involves being fully committed. To someone – or to ourselves.
How much am I willing to endure to fight to maintain a connection with myself? Am I aware of how much I fight for myself? Or do I choose instead to fight to maintain the bond with someone ELSE for the sacrifice of my connection to myself? Can I be both committed to myself AND another?
These are the questions to ask. In addition, two years ago I wrote the following questions when reading today’s portion.
- What is it we hold sacred? Right now?
- What is something We once held sacred but no longer do?
- What is something we wish we held sacred but don’t?
- What is something we hold sacred but really wish we didn’t?
My answers have shifted since writing that. And? They haven’t. Because I believe what we hold sacred is what we likely will endure to keep connection.
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