It has been a week friends. A week of sadness, violence, and struggle. I'm not going to talk about any of those things though. I think enough people have already said all that needs to be said. I just wanted to share what's been bubbling around in my heart.
This week the Jewish holiday of Sukkot starts. It is the "Feast of Tabernacles." I am NOT going to write about Sukkot though. I AM going to share a wonderful idea from some of my study of the holiday, and a few more thoughts about life.
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The sukkah is the little temporary hut Jewish families build for the holiday. And temporary it is. As a rule, it can not be a permanent structure. One side must be more open. The roof must be made of plant material but cannot block out the stars. If you are standing in the sukkah at night you must see stars. Traditionally you eat and sleep in it. I believe the sukkah is a throwback to the time of both Abraham and the Hebrews as they wandered through the desert. It is a reminder that life is fragile and impermanent. We are all wanders.
Rabbi Noa Kushner said, "The sukkah can help us remember this basic truth: we are all living under the same roof." I love this idea. It is a wonderful reminder that regardless of race, religion, or nationality we are all living under one big vast and beautiful sky. We are all one really.
Similarly, Yogi Bhajan the spiritual teacher who introduced Kundalini yoga to the western world said, "Recognize the other person is you." There are many meanings to this I believe, but the core for me is seeing that we are all the same, again we are all one. Just like you have hopes, dreams, fears, and desires so too do everyone else. They may not be the same, they may not have the same priorities, but other people are no less deserving of love, care, and respect. When we can see the humanity of the "other" person we have succeeded.
Recognizing the other person is you can also be understood to mean that there is truly NO separation. We may be in sperate bodies, living "separate" lives, but in reality, we are all connected. We have all ended up on the same rock hurling through space, breathing the same air, feeling the same beams of the sun radiating down upon us. We are all a part of this enormous living breathing thing we know as the Universe. Whether you are spiritual or not, you can not deny there is an innerconnectedness to being. We are one.
This brings me to the final quote I would like to share. Ram Dass is famously quoted as saying, "We are all just walking each other home." This is truly one of my favorite quotes of all time. It is beautifully heartbreaking. Regardless of the turmoils and stresses that surround us, we are simply moving through life together until the end. We are all walking each other home.
There is so much pain in the world around us. This is not new, and will not end. If we could stop and take a moment. If we could gaze up into the night's sky peppered with brilliant lights from far away. If we realized for even a brief moment how amazing this life, this world, truly is. If we could just see that we are all living under the same roof. That each and every person we meet is just us in different clothes. If we all could just turn to our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers and truly see them. Then we would see ourselves. We would be able to reach across whatever divides us and take someone else's hand. At the end of the day my friends, we are all just walking each other home. Let's do it with love. Let's do it with compassion. And then, maybe then, we will all find some peace.
