Daily Dose (April 23 – 26)

TUESDAY —

Only love will set us free.
So, this week, very, very loud renditions of love songs—music of healing and redemption and transformation. The music that gives hope to people around us.
Pete Seeger believed in the power of music. It was his “weapon,” and he sang and lived his life in support of peace, and of international disarmament, and of civil rights, and of environmental causes.
And he paid a price for his beliefs, and for his music. In protesting war, members of his singing group, The Weavers, were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
In The Power of Song, the documentary about Seeger’s life, he talks openly about death threats he received. One man in particular, followed Seeger’s concerts, making his intentions clear.
Pete’s wife Toshi finally suggested that Pete simply talk with the
man. On one occasion, before a concert, back stage, the stalker and Pete spent time in a room alone.
“What happened?” Seeger was asked.
“Well, we talked. And then we sang together… ‘Where have all the
flowers gone?’ And then we cried together. And then the man told me, ‘Thank you. I now feel clean.'”

I get too easily cynical.  And I will admit that some part of me doesn’t want to believe stories that have peaceful endings.
But in my heart, I know that only light can push the darkness away.
Light… and very, very loud renditions of love songs.

And what a gift and affirmation to be a part of Temple Sholom’s 1st Night Musical Passover Seder tonight in Greenwich, CT. Music to and for the heart.
“Oh G-d prepare me, to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
And with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary, oh for You”
And we closed the Seder with Bill Withers’ Lean on Me.
“Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on”

WEDNESDAY —

Love will set us free.
Really? Have you seen the world we live in?
Have you wondered whether anything we try will make a difference?
Here’s what I know: as soon as that kind of doubt (or distrust) sets in, we have forgotten our best selves.
We have forgotten that we were made for this, one soul helping another.

As the old man walks the beach at dawn, he notices a young man picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up to the youth, he asks a simple question, “Why are you doing this?”
The boy answers that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun.
“But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish. How can your efforts make any difference?”
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and threw it to safety—into the ocean past the breaking waves.
“It makes a difference to this one,” he said.

I don’t know what your emotional wellbeing thermostat reads. I do know that when I’m tired or worn down, I’m susceptible to disheartenment and discombobulation (compounded by a dose of guilt that I should know better than to give in to melancholy). Well, this week, I want to give the inner bully a time out.
Here’s what I know: We can make choices that matter, that make a difference. To this day. To this encounter. To this conversation. To honor the truth that love will set us free.

I am writing this from my desk in Port Ludlow, WA, back home after my time on the East Coast. I am so grateful for opportunities to meet people and learn of the ministries and their passion to make our world a place where kindness, welcoming, sanctuary and inclusion are alive and well. And allowing me to tell stories that replenish the heart and spirit.
And thank you for being a part of our Sabbath Moment community. Let us keep spilling our light, my friends. We’ll walk one another home.

THURSDAY APRIL 25 —

Love will set us free. But not by ignoring or eliminating vulnerability.
Or the broken places. But by honoring them. Celebrating them. And loving on them.
A couple anticipated attending the opening of a new museum exhibit. At the last moment, their childcare plans fell through. They were left with the only option of taking their young daughter, seven years old, with them. They expected that the event would be tedious for the girl, but hoped she would not be a drain on their evening.
The exhibit was large and varied. One room of watercolor paintings, another of pen and ink sketches. In another great bronze sculpting. In another, modern art in oil. And in another, small blown glass figurines. Exquisite. Gossamer.
The little girl spent the evening mesmerized.
On the way home, the parents said to their daughter, “We’re sorry we took you to such a long adult event. But we’re proud of the way you behaved. And we want to thank you. Did you enjoy any of the evening.”
The girl paused, and then told them, “All night, I wanted to touch the fragile things.”

“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable,” Madeleine L’Engle wrote. “But to grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable.”
This invitation gratefully has the power to shift our core sense of where we tether our being. And it includes the recognition that it is (even, and especially) in our vulnerability, and humility, that we find the strength and the power to take care of one another.
The invitation to be the light that lets love set one another free.
This matters, because no one is on this journey alone.

We Shake with Joy
We shake with joy, we shake with grief.
What a time they have, these two
housed as they are in the same body.
Mary Oliver

FRIDAY APRIL 26 —

Love will set us free. And this week we’ve been learning about the music of healing and redemption and transformation. The music that gives hope to people around us.
The good news? We carry that music with us.
And we can let it spill. We make a difference. We can make choices that empowers love to set us free.
As soon as doubt (or distrust) sets in, we have forgotten our best selves. And we have forgotten that we were made for this, one soul helping another.

Thank you, as we walk this journey together, with Sabbath Moment. It is unseasonably cool here today, so the fireplace is on. Pull up a chair, a cup of coffee (or tea) is waiting. And we’ll give Bill Withers the stage. And savor the invitation.

“Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on
Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs that you won’t let show
You just call on me brother when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me
Call me
If you need a friend”
Lean On Me, Bill Withers

Prayer for our week…
Bless to me, O God,
Each thing mine eye sees;
Bless to me, O God,
Each sound mine ear hears;
Bless to me, O God,
Each odour that goes to my nostrils;
Bless to me, O God,
Each taste that goes to my lips;
Each note that goes to my song;
Each ray that guides my way;
Each thing that I pursue;
Each lure that tempts my will;
The zeal that seeks my living soul,
The three that seek my heart,
The zeal that seeks my living soul,
The three that seek my heart
Celtic Prayer

Photo… Flowering cherry tree at the Temple Sholom, Greenwich, CT. A memory I take with me… And I’m so grateful for your photos, please send them to [email protected]