“A new year approaches: it is an empty jar. How I fill it up is up to me. Elul is the deep breath needed to get clear about what rocks fill up my jar, and promise to put them in first.” Rabbi Laura Geller
My birthday approaches. This year I will be three years younger than my mother when she died and three years younger than her mother when she died. My birthday always coincides with the Jewish holiday that requires deep personal evaluation and the commitment to behave differently. Sometimes when I review the past year I feel stuck, full of regrets, broken. Last year I put two big rocks in my jar, rocks of creativity and connection, and this month of Elul, as I approach the Jewish holidays, I am in a much happier, satisfying and healed place than I was the year before. What do I need to put into my jar this year?
What do you need to get clear about? What rocks do you need to put in your jar first?
Baruch ata adonai I look forward to and welcome this time of year as I yearn and learn to be closer to you and to my true self. Be with me as I begin again on this journey of reflection and return. Let me not be smug and say, “I’m doing great just where I am. Wouldn't it be okay if I just stay here awhile and enjoy myself?” Probably not. Help me to do the work I need to do. Amen
8/27/12
ReplyDeleteYou cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself. Galileo Galilei.
Thank you for opening a door for me and others. You must add a stone to your jar; I have added one to mine. Writing from the heart is not easy but necessary. V