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Owning our destiny

Yesterday we got a lot of sad, frustrating, and challenging news. The first major wave of
tragedies came to bare, our isolation policy was extended, and the potential outbreak to come
was reported. Stuff is getting real.

So what do we do now? How are we supposed to process and handle the reality that is taking
hold?

Looking through the lens of Pnimius – interiority – means seeing things within their context. By
the end of last week, it seemed as though surviving, and thriving, through two weeks of fear,
isolation, and social adjustment was a great victory, and in many ways it was. Yet now, in
retrospect, it is easy to see that the last two weeks were only preparation for the month to come.
G-d, the universe, the timeline of human experience, is challenging us to change, to adapt, and
hopefully to evolve. We seek assurances and direction from the powers that be, our spiritual
leaders and our governments, but they can’t take reality away and they can’t face it for us. Only
we can take ownership of our destiny, of the responsibility the universe offers us, in our
suffering.

Will we heed the call? Will we grow and evolve to something incalculably greater than we were
before? This is the acceptance we are faced with. We are here, so now what are we gonna do
about it.

No doubt what we do will be imperfect and we will make mistakes along the way, but we can
choose to turn the outcome over to the care of a higher force and take responsibility for our part.
We can choose to look at the last two weeks as the perfect preparation for facing the month to
come.

Just for today we can accept reality for what it is and choose to Lean In to the responsibility
being offered. We can abandon the outcome, the outcome of circumstance and of our
experience of it, show up the best we can, just for today, with faith, curiosity, and even
excitement for the growth to come.

May our courage and willingness be a merit for those suffering, a shield for those at risk, and do
honor to those who we have lost.

We are in this together

In my observation, at this point in the journey, there are really two types of people;
There are those of us that successfully engaged supports and found a new normal in this
challenging time. We worked hard over the past few weeks to follow the instructions of our
governments and authorities while taking care of our physical, emotional, and spiritual well
being. We practiced resilience in tough times by developing a plan of self-care that will foster
spiritual growth for the future. Many of us are starting to feel a growing burnout as our initial
motivation falters, and we begin to really come to terms, on an experiential level, with how long
our new normal is actually going to last.

Then, there are those of us that have not yet developed a vibrant plan. Some of us are
individuals with full families with needs, the early phase of this challenge meant focusing on
their immediate safety and need; Parents, Children, and Spouses. Some of us caught the early
wave of the virus and have felt and been very ill there simply wasn’t the time or ability to
develop a plan, and lastly, there are those of us who’s impulse was to retreat, in the hope of
waiting out the difficulty, and reemerging when normal was normal again. All of us in this boat
are now waking up in a world that demands a lot if we have any hope of maintaining our Yishuv
Hadas – our emotional Sobriety

So, what do we do now?

We gotta LEAN IN to each other.

Feeling burnt out? A lot of us can really benefit from your support, your guidance, and your
wisdom.

Feeling overwhelmed? A lot of us can really benefit from supporting you.

Our human protection mechanisms tell us that when we have an abundance, we need to be
careful, to circle the wagons, to hold on to what we have and that when we are struggling, we
need to keep up a good attitude so that the struggle doesn’t consume us. Those are useful, but
not right now in this way. Right now, we need to share freely what we have and let others in.
When we share spiritual strength we get stronger, not weaker, and when we admit spiritual
struggle we get higher, not lower.

So today, maybe LEAN IN to someone who didn’t have time, ability, or focus to prepare the way
you did or lean into someone who did. When we lean on each other we reveal the divinity within
and that way take the opportunity to shine it outward.

Welcome to the new normal

As humans, our brains were built to search for and develop habits that help us to multitask,
learn from experience, and thrive. One of the challenges that come up, when our dynamic shifts,
is we have to change from operating on autopilot in so many areas to a willingness to adopt new
perspectives, new attitudes, and new tactics to thrive in our new reality. This requires
open-mindedness, ingenuity, faith, and trust.

Yet, adjusting to a new normal doesn’t just mean adopting new patterns and skills. It also
means leaning back on time-proven supports that have helped before. No doubt there are
things we have to abandon, and things we need to adjust and things we need to approach
differently, but there are also skills, tools, and principles that have carried us before and will
carry us through again.

Like our forefather Jacob, who in the midst of the greatest battle of his life took the time to go
back for the Pachim Ketanim – the small vessels that were overlooked, taken for granted and left
behind, it’s critical for us to reflect and recognize what strengths and skills we left behind this
past week when we were in panic then adjustment mode. What were some of the things we did
last month that made a big difference to us? What got lost in the shuffle that we can go back for
now, and pick back up.

When we are open to fresh and experience but also keep what works close then we truly have a
NEW NORMAL

When the tank is running on empty, BE EMPTY

So, it’s been 8 days now and it seems like people are really beginning to struggle and lose
energy. The tank seems to be running on empty.

In the Inner Wisdom of Torah, the number 8 represents that which is above reality, beyond the
seven days of the week. What’s powerful about the Torah view of things is that rest, taking a
step back to reflect and recharge is part of the system of action. With six parts we create and on
the seventh, we step back to reflect.

But what do we do when we hit “Day 8”? What do we do when we pushed resiliently all we can,
and then stepped back reflectively and we are still burnt out? What do we do now?
When we hit “Day 8’s” we need to LEAN IN to a higher source of power. We need to tap into
something beyond the restrictions of sense and sensibility. We need to remember that we are
greater than the sum of our parts, that the whole world is greater than the sum of its parts. That
there is an unseen factor that transcends the logical because the world of seven parts really has
8.

So, Just for Today, if you are feeling what we are all feeling, LEAN IN to a Higher Power,
whatever that is to you. Trust the process and remember more energy and resilience are yet to
come. An untapped tank is right around the corner.