What Next?

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



This morning came too soon and not soon enough. Too soon in the sense that I had a late night with Study Group followed by dinner and long conversation with my close friend friend and psychiatrist, Abe. Not soon enough in that life is so short and there is so much to do.



We discussed a sort of midrash in group. Midrash is a story offering a back-story to a biblical tale. This midrash was about what happened after Jacob discovered God was everywhere and he saw the ladder to heaven. God asks Jacob to go up the ladder and Jacob refused. The question then becomes quite existential.



I likened this to the Zen koan about having attained the top of the hundred foot pole to only be asked, "What is your next step?"



If the top of the pole signifies awakening, then what? Buddha faced this on the morning of his awakening. Jesus likely faced it in the desert after his dance with the devil.



Is this all there is?



How do I face my future? If I am One, then what is the meaning and role of two?



Am I a hero or a coward? Which is to ask, am I authentic or a fraud?



Even with awakening, God in our heart, Jesus on our shoulder, and direct connection with Everything, we still must live.



How?



Be well.