To the angels that walked among us

I’m so sorry you sweet little angels. We let you down and now we’ve lost you. We’ve created a selfish and callous world where WE takes a backseat to ME and the value of life depends on what a video game’s point system may be. We’ve made schools test centers without adequate support, “minded our business” when a child shows signs of trouble, and have placed parenting behind ensuring the DVR is recording the latest mind-numbing trash on TV. We cling to Bibles with one hand and, oddly enough, our guns with the other and dismiss societal psychology as oversensitive pandering.

So while we mourn your loss we, ALL OF US, must also shoulder the blame. We created a world that wasn’t safe for you and we don’t deserve you. Yet it took losing you to realize that out of all this pain there is still hope. We can change this world into a better place. One where children never have to live in fear and one where no one ever has to shed a tear.

I hope that you are at peace now, you sweet little angels, and please believe it when I say that we all love you and will never forget you.

My charge to everyone reading this:

Tikkun Olam (Repair the World) is the mission of all of us and its either now or never. For the world has never been in more need of repair than today.

To our fallen heros

Memorial Day is synonymous with backyard BBQs and keggers.  You can even get a good deal on a car or a mattress this weekend.  Banks are closed, no mail, and in most cases the trash will have to be picked up later.

But this is a sacred day.  The Holiest of all federal holidays.  Today we are to honor, remember, and reflect on the many lives that have been lost is this barbaric thing called war.  Every day young men and women raise their right hand and take an oath to serve and protect the freedoms we (in America) know and enjoy.  When taking that oath they write a blank check to the People of the United States for an amount up to an including their very life.  Many of us wrote that check,  but today is the day we honor those who’s checks were cashed in.

 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

Thomas Jefferson’s Bible

Image by national museum of american history via Flickr

Thomas Jefferson is a personal hero of mine for several reasons.   Obviously because he  was one of our founding fathers and the author of the Declaration of Independence , but also because he was the epitome of  what it meant to be a “Seeker”.  I have mentioned The Jefferson Bible a few times but, I have recently stumbled across a website that lets you look at the original.  For those that don’t know Jefferson struggled with the miracles and magic in the Bible.  He believed in God and he held Jesus in a high regard.  He was theologically somewhere between a Unitarian and a Deist.  He read a lot and the Bible was one of the books he read the most (he had the Bible in Greek, French, and the good old King James Version you can read today)  Eventually Jefferson narrowed his view of the Bible to just the life and teachings of Jesus.  So he took a razor and some glue and literally cut the passages of the Gospels that he felt best reflected the teachings of Jesus and pasted them into a blank book.  He then used this as his Rule and Guide in life.  For a long time members of congress were given a copy of this book when they took the oath of office.  The rise of evangelicalism in the 50’s saw this tradition come to a quiet end.  It’s a shame when you think about it.  Imagine if members of  Congress followed the precepts taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

Here is a link to The Jefferson Bible: 

http://americanhistory.si.edu/JeffersonBible/the-book/?page=3&view=transcription#dl

I own a copy of this and have set it aside for a little to long as I have focused so much on Torah study.  In fact, due to some recent discussions with a very intelligent author I have decided to revisit the Christian Scriptures.  I am sure that the new reading lenses that I have developed from rabbinical Torah study will no doubt prove useful in reading about the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.  Who knows, maybe I’ve been wrong about Paul too.  Stay tuned the Quest is about to go into yet another direction.

© Nelson Rose, The Quest for Light

Stop talking and do something

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Faith does not feed the homeless, it does not assist the elderly, it does not protect the weak, or comfort widows and orphans. 

Faith does not house an injured veteran, it does not counsel the depressed, it does not provide healthcare to the poor.

People with big hearts do.

People who talk less and perform random acts of kindness are not as numerous as those who like to complain about the state of things.  Some people perform acts of kindness out of the goodness of their heart and some do them for self-gratification and recognition.  Either way it is our actions and not our personal beliefs that can affect the lives of other people. 

Many of the worlds religions rest the fate of mankind on a messianic figure of some kind.  Some believe this person will be a warrior who will defeat the forces of evil by force, some believe he already came and will return to finish what he started, and some believe that there have been messianic figures in the past and that more are to come – each one adding to the work of the other.

Instead of waiting around for someone why not look at yourself?  Every single person has the power to make a difference on their own.  There are so many stories of this happening in the past.  From Hercules, Noah, and Moses to George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world” ~Gandhi

It was a small group of ambitious men who ended the Divine right of kings in Europe and its grip on America.  It was a small group of people who inspired thousands to rise against dictators and topple oppressive regimes.  Why are you waiting around for someone else to “save” you or the rest of the world when you can do it yourself?  Every single one of us has the power to change the world for the better.  You don’t have to start a revolution or sacrifice your life either, it can be a simple act of kindness for a complete stranger that can start a ripple effect of kindness that can span a distance greater than you can imagine. 

 “Each person must see himself as though the entire world were held in balance and any deed he may do could tip the scales.”  ~Maimonides

I am not telling anyone to renounce their religion or any doctrines they may teach.  I am merely saying that it’s time to stop preaching about ending times and the collapse of morals in society and actually do something about it.  Sitting around and acting hopeless accomplishes nothing.  In my life time I have seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and people in positions of power that can do something about it (Washington, the Vatican, etc) do absolutely nothing about it.

Rather than spends billions of dollars fighting an ideology, why not spend those dollars on things like feeding the homeless, assisting the elderly, protecting the weak, comforting widows and orphans?   Maybe instead of waiting for a savior we can provide housing to an injured veteran, counsel the depressed, or provide healthcare to not just the poor but, every single person who needs it.

You can call me unrealistic, you can say I’m crazy, you can even tell me this is impossible.  If you did then it would just be a useless parade of words with little to no meaning and another example of a complete lack of action.  All of us have heard the expression “actions speak louder than words” but, how many of us actually try to help others?  How many of us show our children the necessity of having a charitable heart?  How many of us spend more time “keeping up with the Jones’s” instead of “helping out the Smith’s”?

If you think you can’t make a difference.  Just watch what happens when you actually try.

© Nelson Rose, The Quest for Light

9-11

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It’s hard to believe 10 years have passed since the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, claimed so many lives, and changed our world forever. Suddenly, a new kind of enemy had emerged that no one ever expected or knew how to deal with. For most of us our lives eventually went back to normal and those who lost loved ones they’ve managed to cope in their own way. We’ve lived on but, changed forever.

We all remember where we were, what we were doing, and who we with when the events of that day unfolded. For those who weren’t born or to young to remember, they have the stories of others to take them back to that day. It was the most tragic day in our history and one that made most of us feel vulnerable and unsafe. With all the pain and suffering there is a senselessness as to how this could happen. Some even ask questions like – God, why did you let this happen? Why were innocent people killed? Why did so many people get hurt? And the biggest one of all – God, are you even out there?

I don’t have the answers to those questions. As a person who views that there is a purpose for everything and supreme authority to which we are all accountable to, I believe that some things will never make sense and some things will seem grueling unfair. Today, is one of the few days that makes me wonder, doubt, remember, and be grateful all at the same time.

For those lost, you will be missed.
For those left behind, you are not alone.
For those serving in harm’s way, come home soon.
For those who hate, learn to love.

When the evil in the world affects those who know how to love and how to be charitable, evil wins. Stay strong.

© Nelson Rose, The Quest for Light