Hiding in a Dark Room

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

_____________________

Hiding in a quiet moment

In a darkened corner

Of an old friend's house,

I sat in complete stillness.

We just picked away his gloss and left him

As he truly was: naked before the Infinite.

A couple of hats, some shirts, a few socks,

And even a coat or two. The rest away to the

Salvation Amy. I notice

Our clothes disguise us before the Universe.

Like Adam, we hide in the leaves of linen and cotton.

We forget ourselves and who we really are:

Then that singular moment. I am here.

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That lovingkindness we Jews call Chesed requires courage. We are required to help our friends through the lifecycle, which is actually a cyclical mirror of our own lives. As we do, we see ourselves through our friends.

It takes courage to be open to this sight.

I look away often. Words are my hiding place. They take me away from the feeling and drop me directly into thought. So slick.

But then, so is stillness at times.

I knew receiving my friend's clothes after his death would be difficult. I saw myself as a scavenger bird, as in the scene in Kundun when the Dalai Lama's father died and the birds picked clean his bones. It is a natural cycle, and we are all here to feed the universe in one way or another.

Be well.


This evening we will sit in meditation at Temple Beth El at 7:00 PM. Please join us.