Song of today, sung in remembrance of yesterday and in anticipation of tomorrow.
Good morning, dear relations, in every dimension, every direction, every context. To every being, every idea and every object I am connected to I wish you new beginnings, new hope, a new year. Shana Tova.
This morning when I woke, you were the first thing on my mind. My wife, my brother, my sisters, my children and grandchildren and the grandchildren of my grandchildren, my forbearers and my ancestors – maternal and paternal ancestors; intellectual, spiritual and cultural forebearers.
Today, on the Sunday that comes between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur – Between hope for tomorrow’s mitzvah and repentance for yesterday’s sin – Today I especially remember my parents, and also my maternal grandmother, Marie. (She was the only grandparent I got to know as an adult, who I counted as a friend.)
Yesterday, we dodged a hurricane. Today, the sun is shining, the winds have calmed. Today, I will visit my parents’ grave and my grandmothers grave. It will be easy today to remember that the light that illuminates my life, in good years and bad, was kindled in me, nurtured in me, bequeathed to me by Hilary, by Ruth Anna and by Marie.
Today, I go with reverence to a spiritual place, to a cemetery consecrated to the religion of my ancestors (some of them), but the light that guides me stands against every tradition, every dogma, every fixed point in the endless universe. Today, I celebrate the inner revolution on which all public revolution depends. Today, I acknowledge the wondrous freedom I learned from my family: Freedom to think outside the box, to live outside the box and to love outside the box. Freedom to change my mind as many times as there are days in my life.
Today, as I go to visit my parents, to wish them Shana Tova, I remind myself what they taught me: A single spark can start a prairie fire. The people, united, can never be defeated. The highest good is like water. And Coke is the Drink of the Death Squads!
Happy New Year brother, sisters, in-laws, children, comrades, friends and lovers. Happy New Year parents and grandparents and all the parents and grandparents of parents and grandparents! Happy New Year Planet Earth! Happy New Year plants and animals! Happy New Year fire, water, air and matter! Happy New Year Sun, Moon and Stars! Happy New Year big ideas and small steps! Happy New Year Play and Happy New Year Piffling!
These days, it is not always easy to approach the world with hope, with happiness. Many days It’s hard to just pay attention. Today, remembering all of you Today, remembering Hilary, Ruth Anna and Marie Today, in the bright sunshine For one day, at least, |