Month: October 2014

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o’er wrought heart and bids it break.
—William Shakespeare

Feel free to give words to your sorrow here. What grief are you holding?

At some point the jagged exterior of a chestnut breaks open, revealing the sleek inner shell. But it takes even more time and effort to get to the nut within.

Who, or what, helps you to reveal the you that is below the surface which you generally show to the world?

There’s a hole in the middle of the prettiest life,
So the lawyers and the prophets say.
Not your father nor your mother
Nor you lover’s gonna ever make it go away;
And there’s too much darkness in an endless night
To be afraid of the way we feel.
Let’s be kind to each other
Not forever but for real.
—Bob Franke

When do you most feel the hole in your life?

Yom Kippur is known as the Day of Atonement. It is the day of asking forgiveness for the failings, large and small, that have marred the previous year. It can also be thought of as the Day of At-One-ment, of trying to align oneself with the Holy through the daily choices that shape our relationships.

How do you seek at-one-ment with your highest purpose?

This evening marks the beginning of the time of Hajj, the pilgrimage that Muslims are enjoined to take at least once in a lifetime. All places in this world are holy, but some, through tradition and association—and maybe even some innate spiritual power—are holier than others.

Where have you gone on pilgrimage?