Friday, November 29, 2019. It was a bit of a celebration this month, with a new boardwalk open and sporting a beautiful artist-designed gazebo and landscaping. As winter arrives in the Great Lakes, the wildlife is still frequenting the park, four pairs of mallard ducks among them.
In my absence, co-leaders Linda and Stephen prepared some lovely thoughts. Kislev is of course the darkest month of the year, containing both the winter solstice, the shortest day of the solar year, and the beginning of Chanukah, our appropriately designated festival of light. As Linda notes, it is a month of sleeping, dreaming, and learning to interpret our dreams. Dreaming of light, and meditating on the light, is a way we can weather the darkest of times – and especially consider those in need of healing, who may not be able to dream or to act on their dreams.
Stephen conjured the image of Jacob, whose stories in the Torah readings this month feature two nights sleeping alone and dreaming in the desert, on his way to visit Laban, and returning to meet Esau. On the first night, his dream was of angels ascending the ladder to heaven. On the second, he woke, or dreamed, to find himself wrestling with an angel. Our physicist friend Stephen recognizes in these stories the quest for understanding of the universe – reaching ever higher for inspiration and knowledge, and wrestling with difficult problems outside our comfort zone. We are reminded that science and spirituality are entwined, and not at all opposed.
May the coming Chanukah lights, and the slow return of the light to the universe after the solstice, bring healing and inspiration to all of us, and brighten the days when the wrestling is difficult. Chodesh tov! — Kirby
The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Sunday, December 29, 2019, 7:30 am. Contact us for location. Rain or snow or shine!
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 