Imagine this: cold. Sky pops bright and the ground below, a brittle crunch. Low to the ground, the dogs' breath precedes them, warm gray hollows of air bobbing ahead. The sky is a brittle blue. Even in the city -- early early morning-- there is silence.
She labors up a hill, the cityscape before her, the sun gaining in strength. From nowhere -- grace? -- a memory.
Every morning at sunrise, I'm surprised I am here. I surprised for the sunrise, for my life.
This is Rabbi Habraham Heschel and she is paraphrasing. The gist?
Be surprised by violence. Be surprised by evil and injustice. Never become adjusted to injustice, violence and sorrow. Let this conditions startle and alert, always.
So the Matron gulped in the startling winter air, considered the state of the world and re-evaluated, surprised by the beauty around her and the responsibility we all share to make violence, injustice and selfishness shock and awake to action.
4 comments:
I could just feel you running in the cold up that hill.
Great words to start the week.
A good meditation.
To have such awareness is a great thing, you must never forget it.
This post was a beautiful reminder. It's far too easy to become cynical and automatically expect the worst.
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