Longing for the Creator

Blows come upon us in many forms.

They are like a leash. We are being pulled in a direction we do not even know where. But the more resistant we become, the more the blows get severe.

Until we cry out because we ran out of options. Like a cry of a cow when it runs out of grass to eat.

We cry out to the Creator even though sometimes we are doubtful of His existence.

Then, all of a sudden the blows stop.

We figure what happened.

We shouted from deepest realms of our gut and the Creator heard.

He must be saying, 'Good boy!'

Internal Work

Our work is not external.

Accomplishing corporeal work is not our goal.

What matters is what is inside. What is our intention?

We read passages. We sing songs. We listen to friends. All these we do to remind ourselves of our real intentions.

Study should be central to our group because the remedy is in there.

Working with the group is raising our beast to a level of man, but the Creator does this.

Interconnectedness

Underneath our brokenness is our interconnectedness.

It is our obligation to one another to reveal this brokenness and cry out to the Creator for help to assist us in this work of unity.

It is the Creator's work. If He does not build a house, we build a house in vain.

Our role is to reveal this brokenness and allow the Creator to remedy this.

Unity

Our souls are interconnected.

It is written that the advancement of one is the advancement of the many.

We are already united. It is concealed and we are given the responsibility to reveal this unity.

We get sparks once in a while, and we live our lives trying to relive this unity. We long for this. It is in our nature, but we forget.

Belongingness

Did you ever feel real belongingness?

Every moment, we always strive to belong.

Husbands belong to their wives. Children belong to their parents. He belongs to that school. She belongs to that man. They belong to this organization.

It is such an unfortunate thing to not belong to anyone or anything.

You long to be with someone. It is like an immediate action every instant.

In a party, you look for somebody you know in the middle of the crowd without delay.

This is your nature. No matter how much you want to disconnect to the world once in while, you are pushed back into it by a force so strong that you could not go against it.

I bet people will immediately delete this nature if they are given the power to do so. But, the Higher Force must have a good reason why He did not allow for it.

Connection

You hear people say, 'I feel you.'

It is a common phrase you hear at the movies. You also hear that once in a while in the background of your mundane existence.

It does not have to take a true knowledge of the person to express this statement. A complete stranger can say this to you without knowing the details of your life.

And when you hear it, you feel that you are not alone in your situation. During this one moment, the two of you unite in the same feeling. There is a feeling of camaraderie.

It is just nice to have somebody tell you this once in a while.

Repair the World

If you look at the world, it is not complete.

Developments happen constantly. You see how advanced we are now than five or ten years ago. You can only imagine what five years from now would bring as far as advanced changes and developments are concerned.

People find ways to make things better. It is part of human nature. It will never stop until the end of time.

Look at a car. It was made from resources we already have. People's ingenuity put all these raw resources together to create a vehicle.

This is a good example of how you are created to make things better.

A question that you need to answer today is, 'What did I do to repair the world today?'

Obstacles

Obstacles are brought to you by the Creator for a purpose.

They are usually more tangible and visible before a great revelation. The intensity of it can be felt as you get closer to the goal that the Creator set for you.

The Israelites faced the Red Sea as they were being approached by the chariots who wanted them back to Egypt. Before they reached this situation, they had to go through the plagues which the Creator sent the Egyptians to let His people go.

There were fears, doubts, uncertainties, anxieties. With the prodding and encouragement of Moses, the Israelites proceeded and crossed the Red Sea.

You know the great Parting of the Red Sea story. It was a great miracle that happened after the Israelites went through tough times and made some tough decisions with 'faith above reason.'

They reached the Promised Land only after so many obstacles. Most of these of obstacles were deep within them. They put in front of themselves an invisible barrier that prevent the Creator to allow them to reach their goal.

It took them 40 years to allow the Creator to purify their intentions and to be deserving of the Promised Land.

Use your obstacles to empower the importance of your goal. These will propel you to spiritual heights.

Humility

Humility is an on-going effort to check yourself every moment with the way you think, speak, and act. Checking how you see yourself in every situation will give you a purview of how you see highly of yourself and poorly of others.

It is natural to always want to better yourself as compared to others. You always want more.

Training yourself to look at others greatly entails a habit. Whenever you find a moment that you look down at another person, immediately change the direction of your thoughts by finding the positive qualities of that person.

Having a mantra in your head saying that the other person is better than you will help in developing humility.

I admire people who do not consider themselves better than others, even though they clearly are better than others.

If you find yourself in a situation that you see yourself as very accomplished, a Jewish sage said to remember the greatness of God and the vastness of his creation. His magnitude will diminish how you see yourself.

Check out the 'Letter of an Uncle to His Nephew.'

Forgiveness and Asking for Sorry

It is hard to forgive. It is also hard to say sorry.

It takes an effort in the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects to reach out one's hand to the person you have a grudge against.

Saying a prayer before bestowing forgiveness or asking for sorry gives you a surge of power to enact what is difficult.

Jacob was fearful when he was about to encounter Esau after years of resentment, betrayal, and grudge. Jacob thought that he was going to be given what he deserved by his brother. He took Esau's rights and blessings. It was only right that Esau treat him badly or violently for this reason. However, Jacob prayed and asked God for help.

Jacob extended peace offering before physically meeting his brother to appease what was otherwise a sour relationship. When the time of the meeting came, Esau embraced Jacob.

God truly intervened here for nothing is random. There is an added force here which the prayer allowed to happen.

Forgiveness and saying sorry is hard, but you are not meant to do it alone. Ask Him who is the Source of them.

Read 'Forgiving an Enemy in Three Simple Ways.'