Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Thursday gratefuls: Tom. Here. (I think.) Ruth and her chemistry test. Gabe and Gabe knowledge. Maddie. Palliative care. Shadow and her toys. Aggressive chewers. Artemis and her children, headed for a coming frost. The attempt to ignore the first amendment. A world changing so, so fast. Labrum tears and steroid injections. Back pain relief coming in October. Golden Leaves among the green. A Mountain Fall.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Shadow’s head on my pillow
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Derech Eretz. The way of the land. “A natural, moral order that exists independent of formal Torah law. This is reflected in the saying, “Derech Eretz preceded the Torah,” and speaks to the innate decency that human beings should possess.”
Tarot: #4, The Lord, reversed. (Druid Craft)
One brief shining: The reversed Lord read the newspaper this morning, the suppression of free speech by censoring Jimmy Kimmel, the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show, the promises to “take down” liberal organizations like the Ford Foundation and the George Soros Open Societies Foundation; he’s signaling the Rubicon of tyranny crossed with deliberate, feral intent.
She’s a sweet person. A Hoosier from da region, that cluster of hard blue collar cities and steel mills tucked up in the extreme northwest corner of the state. When I recounted sister Mary’s line: “Living in Indiana is like living in the Deep South without the benefit of a warmer climate,” she laughed and said, “Oh, that’s so true!”
Just a moment: A chill. No, a near absolute zero blast went down my spine when I read about Jimmy Kimmel pulled off the air indefinitely. Talk about unamerican. Roger Cohen and Joseph McCarthy and Father Coughlin have risen from their graves. Ain’t no grave that can keep their vile opinions down.
After the last immigrant has left the country
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Wednesday gratefuls: Tom. Rascal. Paul. Findlay. Morning darkness. Cold morning. 36. Hail protection on Artemis. Shadow and her new puzzle. Her morning kisses. Maddie, coming today. Carol yesterday. The Sloan-Kettering trial. The killed comforter. Lashon hara. Words matter. Nerve ablation next month. P.E.T. scan. The never ending thrills.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Maddie
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Derech Eretz. The way of the land, the essential human decency that came before Torah.
Tarot: Five of cups, reversed. (Druid Craft)
- Finding opportunity in setbacks: You are starting to see the value in what you have learned from a painful experience.
- Open to help: You may now be more willing to accept help from others.
One brief shining: Learning the lesson of accepting help, hard for this head-down, push forward in spite of guy, leaning on the kindness of friends for rides to procedures, appointments does not come without cost and does not come without reward, a cost in changed self-image, the reward understanding it needed to change.
Sport: Ohani. A baseball player for the ages. Our Babe Ruth. This Japanese pitcher, yes, that’s right pitcher, just hit 50 home runs in consecutive seasons. He hit number 50 last night against the Philadelphia Phillies. Whadda guy.
Though I’ve never taken to baseball the way my nerdy, statistics oriented son did, I’ll admit in this year, this particular year, a sport in which violence does not feature, in which all team members contribute, one where fans sing songs during the seventh inning stretch, and a sport, like basketball, home grown and oh so American appeals to my need for something of this country that makes me smile.
Just a moment: The Wrath of the already Wrathful. I fear we’ve entered a new, even darker phase of this already far too long presidency. Retribution. Vengeance. Punishment. We may as well have a dominatrix as our leader, one who sees the rest of us as masochists who delight in pain, grin at affliction.
As my friend Paul observed, protesting may carry a new risk. A president and Justice Department and an FBI without a moral compass. No longer constrained by such delicacies as the Bill of Rights, such niceties as habeas corpus. No longer held in check by the courts. Buttressed at times by the National Guard and the U.S. military.
Concentration camps: “Based on internal agency documents, overall detention capacity is projected to increase significantly. One document from July 2025 reported plans to add 10,312 beds through no-bid contracts alone. This was part of an effort to increase overall capacity to at least 100,000 beds” Gemini on beds for immigrant detainees to be added by building new facilities, opening shuttered prisons, and adding capacity like the tents for up 5,000 at Ft. Bliss (get the irony here?)
Here’s my question. Once the last immigrant has been detained and the last flight for South Sudan or Venezuela or Ghana has left the ground who will fill up those freshly empty beds?
Given the state of play after Charlie Kirk’s assassination? Any who deviate. From the good, the true, and the proper. As defined by angry, bitter people who see mercy and justice as weakness. Lordy, lordy.
For a Trump Sick Soul
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Tuesday gratefuls: Shadow, her downward dog. Diane in Indiana. Seeing Judy, Marilyn and Irv’s friend. My son. His work. Seoah. Murdoch. Dog treats. Liberals. Under siege. The Ford Foundation. George Soros. Hungary. Italy. France. Germany. The Netherlands. Great Britain. Denmark. Norway. Sweden. Finland. Spain. Austria.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Friends
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Derech Eretz. The way of the Land.
Tarot: Seven of Pentacles, (Druid Craft)
One brief shining: Body creaky, aching at the joints, meds of little help, so very tired of this, not being able to bend over, finish tasks; yet, I watched a movie yesterday afternoon: Deaf President Now-Apple TV-and the power, the real and always power of folks shunted aside was so beautiful, so moving, I cried remembering my days of awe at the confidence and bravery of ordinary people.
Days of Yesteryear: Denim jacket on, hair beginning to get long, my ever present Pall Mall in my hand, jeans and workboots, green book bag slung over my shoulder. The microphone. Hell, no, we won’t go. Fists in the air. Electricity on campus. Hundreds, then thousands. Against the war. Against in loco parentis. For student power. As those Gallaudet students found when confronted with the choice of yet another hearing president.
Those were the days my friend. I thought they’d never end. But, they did. With the ominous prescience of National Guard Troops firing live bullets into an anti-war protest. With the Moral Majority and the immoral president, Richard Nixon. The rise of Movement Conservatives. A gradual gathering of grievance and indifference to derech heretz, the basic decency expected of all people.
As the conservatives gradually slowly, thanks Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, the New Apostolic Reformation, National Conservatism, became a tide, a tsunami of hate and bitter feeling. As this once powerful nation began to insist on pulling back from the world, declaring National narcissism as our raison d’etrê. As a nation began to split itself apart, dragging the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, the unhealthy, persons of color and LGBTQ+ persuasions across a sharp bed of nails- oligarchic indifference.
That world. Then. Gone. A distant memory of hope and justice. Subducted under a tectonic plate of fear and repressed anger with guns and Gadsen flags flying.
So often. Can we last four years of this? Among Jews. Is it time to go? But, where? Sadness and confusion among those I love. Glad in that strange way Mary and Mark, my son and Seoah live faraway. It is a sad time to be an American.
Friends: Breakfast with Marilyn and Irv. Their friend from Massachusetts. The joy. The here and now healing of laughter. Shared exasperation. Shared dreams and acknowledged fears. Over a Salmon blt, two drag it through the garden omelets, and a flatbread with cheese and pepperoni. At Primo’s in Kings Valley.
When I left, I felt buoyed up by conversation. By seeing and being seen. By hearing and being heard. The balm of Gilead for a Trump sick soul.
The Lost Boys
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Sunday gratefuls: Jamie. Ty. Irv. Jim. Seth. Bruce. Joe. Matt. Lawyer guy. Will. Bill. Irv’s first time leading group. Evergreen High School. Its students. Seth’s daughters. Rain. 40 degree morning. A Mountain Fall begins. The Aspen’s, like Smaug, guarding still their gold. My son. His journey. A life led by principle. The Ancient Brothers on mystery.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Men, together
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Derech Eretz. literally, the way of the land.
- Natural law. In some interpretations, it represents a natural, moral order that exists independent of formal Torah law. This is reflected in the saying, “Derech Eretz preceded the Torah,” and speaks to the innate decency that human beings should possess
Tarot: #2 The High Priestess Druid Craft
- Patience and waiting: The High Priestess advises against taking immediate action. She represents a time of quiet gestation and reflection, encouraging you to wait for more clarity to emerge.
- Spirituality and the subconscious: The card points toward a deeper connection with your spiritual side, meditation, and exploring the mysteries of your psyche.
Aftermath: We men discussed how to be seen, how to know one another, how to be known. Wondered if the world hungered for human connection and dared take the risk, what it would be like.
We didn’t discuss it yesterday, but we could have. Think school shooter. What comes to mind? Yes, a boy, a sad angry dismissed unhappy no right place in his high school world boy. Boiler Medic Ken and I discussed this. Ken said yeah when he was in high school you took it out back and settled things. Except. These boys would not have been the ones, Ken.What responsibility do we adult men have to the shattered psyche’s of boys who would be, not men, but seen, heard, appreciated, and failing that go the way of the too, too easy to obtain gun? Surely something. But how to engage, how to be there?
I raised a boy. Just one. I know he needed love, boundaries, respect. My guess, but not much of a guess, is that these boys need those things, too. From someone who matters.
Two of our number yesterday, one long retired, one just beginning work(ed) with young boys, ones whose lives experienced the disruption of mental illness. There are those among us who walk that road. Perhaps they could guide us.
Just a moment: Meanwhile, one who should guide us, call us together, calls instead for revenge. Vengeance is mine saith the Donald. In poor imitation. I believe Donald is one of those boys. Still. An insecure, frightened, internally beleaguered man-child, still up against the school yard fence promising reprisals.
Boiler Medic
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Friday gratefuls: Wind. Artemis. Dog food. Dog treats. Ken. His story. Boiler Medic. Zone valves and pressure relieving tanks. Agency. Sinah. Ahavah. Negative and positive emotional attachment. Thursday mussar. Traveling Tom. All gun shot victims. All the parents of high school students in Evergreen.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Gun control
Year kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Omet Lev. Strength of the heart. The inner strength to move forward.
Tarot: #2, The High Priestess reversed. (Druid Craft Deck)
- Repressed feelings and hidden truths: The reversal indicates that something is being kept under wraps—either by you or by others. The truth is hidden behind a veil, and you are either in denial or unwilling to confront an underlying issue. Gemini
One brief shining: Guns, their ease of use, their ability to turn the aggrieved into deadly actors, their easy acquisition, those who fetishize them, the video games and movies that valorize them, guns guns guns guns somehow remain behind a second amendment veil, obscuring the truth for so many.
Ken, the Boiler Medic: Ken has taken care of our boiler, hot water, and hot water heat since we moved in. He came yesterday because the hot water heat in Kate’s old sewing room, now my exercise room, did not come on. With winter up next I’ll need some level of heat in that room.
An Apache, Ken and two of his sons, have all served in the Marines. He has stories of a life I could never have lived. One son, a gunnery sergeant, is twenty and out in three months. He’s studying right now to be a game warden in California. Poignant for Ken since he told me long ago that he too wanted to be a game warden, but a DUI disqualified him.
He’s had many jobs. Smoke Jumper. Career ended when he landed on a Pinõn Tree just as it exploded in a fire, breaking his back. Grocery Store Manager. Career ended with hollowing out of Grand Junction when a coal fired generating plant closed and fifty thousand people left town overnight. General maintenance in a setting where he became captivated by the big boilers. A plumber, then a commercial boiler installer and repair guy. Now on his own with his company Boiler Medic.
His non-work pursuits are even more interesting. He raced motorcycles until an accident that again injured his back. His motorcycle, the motorcycle of the guy that hit him, and its rider landed on him. His last motorcycle race. Though his kids raced, his daughter winning national races as a teenager.
He races mountain bikes now. He goes bike camping, showing me a bike with panniers, and other clever storage spots. He takes his Blue Heeler along, riding in a bike trailer with one wheel.
He grew up hunting for meat to feed his family. This year he has a muzzle loading license, an Elk and Bear license, and a Moose license. The Moose license is by lottery and it’s very rare to get one. Though hunting is not my thing, I honor people who hunt and eat the meat. And, who use guns responsibly.
A Culture Dying of Lead Poisoning
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Thursday gratefuls: Teshuva. Accounting of the soul. Shadow on my pillow. Sleeping. 9/11. My son’s decision on account of it. Seoah. Murdoch. Jangs. Singapore. Time with Mary there and in Hawai’i. The anguish of our Middle East actions. Of Israel’s. The Evergreen Shooting. Columbine. Guns. Gun control. Our poor benighted nation. Charlie Kirk.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Tara’s hot tub garden bed
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Ometz Lev. Strength of the heart. A middah I wish for all parents and school children in Evergreen this day.
Tarot: Ten of Cups, (Druid Craft)
- Domestic Harmony: Suggests a stable, secure, and happy home environment. This card often points to a desire for or achievement of an idyllic country life.
- Gratitude and Blessings: A call to recognize and appreciate the blessings you have. The cups are a reminder of the rewards that come from love and connection.
One brief shining: This Shadow Mountain home with its three levels, the guest level and the home office, the main level with Arts and Crafts furniture and lights, the fireplace, the breakfast nook built by Jon, a remodeled kitchen, a pantry, an exercise room, the downstairs level with its oriental rugs, comfy chairs, television, bedroom, and laundry room, Shadow’s food and toys, the fenced in backyard filled with Lodgepoles, Grasses, Groundcovers, Wild Flowers, and now Artemis, a place of memories with Kate, with Vega, Rigel, Gertie, Kepler, with guests over the years, its solar panels, its four car garage and library above, a front with no lawn, more Lodgepoles and Aspens, Kate’s Iris bed and her Lilacs in back has been my refuge, my hermitage, my home of eleven years come this Winter Solstice. Yes to the Ten of Cups.
Oh, my: Gabe and Ruth both sent texts. Gabe: “So today Charlie (Kirk) got shot and killed. And evergreen highschool got shot up. Today is strange.” Ruth: “One of the things I don’t get is how you can be so set on defending a fetus and its life yet guns are more of a right than life is for students.”
Rabbi Jamie opened our sanctuary to any in town who might need it. Ironically he presented a program last night on teshuva. “While often translated as repentance, its deeper meaning is about taking action to return to one’s true, divine self…” Gemini The Jewish month of Elul, in which we are right now, encourages a time of reflection-of cheshbon nefesh, an accounting of the soul-with the aim of teshuva before Rosh Hashanah.
How can we as a nation, as a culture, return to, as one sage put it, the landscape of our soul? Not just the shooter(s) in the 47 school shootings to date this year (Ruth’s numbers), no, but our culture dying from lead poisoning.
Where is the landscape in which I grew up? Flawed in many, many ways to be sure, but at least one in which gun owners hunted, did not demand their “second amendment rights” and the only duck and cover was to shield ourselves (ha) from a nuclear explosion.
Free Exercise
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Wednesday gratefuls: Shadow. Ginny and Janice. Annie and Luna. Tara and Eleanor. Gardening. Artemis. Her Carrots sprouting. Her Beets beginning to thicken. Her Cucumbers close to finished. And, all those Tomatoes! PSA. P.E.T. scan. Good care. Jane and the Mitzvah Committee. Paul and his hospice work. Mark and his care for his friends. Bill in his in the moment life. Tom and his caring. Ancient Brothers, good friends.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Darkness
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Ometz Lev. The inner strength to move forward
Tarot: #5, The High Priest (Druid Craft) “The card represents a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds and emphasizes the importance of following a spiritual tradition, leaning on collective wisdom, and seeking community.” Gemini
One brief shining: As my friendships at Congregation Beth Evergreen broaden and deepen, as the Torah becomes my story, as mussar shapes my character, as having a Rabbi provides a backstop to life’s difficult moments, I know the wisdom for me of “leaning on collective wisdom and seeking community.”
Just a moment: Back to Hazony and his Conservatism Rediscovered. When last we left this story we had finished discussing principles 1 and 2: Historical empiricism and Nationalism. Today we’ll investigate #3, Religion.*
Here is Hazony’s summary of #3: “The state upholds and honors God and the Bible, the congregation and the family, and the religious practices common to the nation. These are essential to the national heritage and indispensable for justice and public morals. At the same time the state offers toleration to religious and social views that do not endanger the integrity and well-being of the nation as a whole.” p. 30-31, Conservatism Rediscovered, Yoram Hazony
I gave you the complete summary so you could see the glaring problems in it. First and most dissonant with American history and tradition is the opening sentence. Our constitution provides for the free practice of religion and forbids the nation to take action favoring one religion over others. Here’s an excerpt from the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
In Hazony’s conservative fever dream of a “restored America” the state upholds God and the Bible. Hazony intentionally inflects his third principle with Christian language. This dovetails, can you see it, with the New Apostolic Reformation’s concept of making disciples of all nations.
Here these two ascendant political movements declare not only their willingness to abrogate freedom of religion, but to in fact establish a state religion. Which in turn abrogates the second part of the freedom of religion clause which ensures just that- the freedom to practice your religion. Full stop.
The last sentence in his summary, so necessary, since Hazony himself is an Orthodox Jew, tries to leave a bit of wiggle room. But its full intent reveals itself in these words: “the state (read The conservative Christian state) offers toleration to…views that do not endanger the integrity and well-being of the nation as a whole.”
This invites a political calculus into religious freedom that is, pardon the word, anathema to the first amendment. Muslims. Politically active black churches. Pagans. Hindus. Who knows what might be considered dangerous to the state?
No, this principle is not about religion. It’s about power, giving the state a rationale to quash dissent, no matter its source. The second sentence unveils its true purpose since this state sponsored religion is “essential to the national heritage and indispensable for justice and public morals.”
The ten commandments on school walls in Louisiana. A conservative evangelical definition of when life begins. Dismissing LBGT+ folks as unnatural. More capital punishment. These ideas and their like already shape policy in U.S. states and at the Federal level. Imagine what comes if a group like the New Apostolic Reformation gains more, much more, than its nascent power. Which is their intent.
Just say no to principle number three.
- *National conservatism has, according to Hazony, five main principles:
- Historical empiricism
- Nationalism
- Religion
- Limited Executive Power
- Individual Freedom
Hazony, Conservatism, p. 33-34
Demented
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Sunday gratefuls: Kavod. Honor. Ruth, up here. Her college days. Work, loans, heavy homework load: Biology, Chemistry, Statistics. Sociology. Gabe, a senior. Warmer. Sadly. Our demented President. Chipocalypse Now. Our frustrated and divided nation. Shadow. The keeper of our safety. Lorikeets and Magpies in Melbourne. Murdoch, aging.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Shadow’s teeth, her front paws
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Ometz Lev. Strength of the heart. The inner strength to move forward.
Tarot: #8, Strength. Reversed (Druid Craft) The reversed Strength card can appear when you question your own courage and abilities. You may feel a sense of inadequacy or that you are not strong enough to handle a situation. Gemini
One brief shining: Sometimes the Tarot arrows down into the psyche, turning over carefully placed rocks, uncovering hidden fear, masked feelings, and there is the possibility that after my visit to Dr. Buphati, I could be shaken, wondering how to gather my ometz lev for the ancientrail ahead. I read it though as a caution, a yellow flag. Be aware and ready.
Dog journal: Put my head on my pillow, drifting, ready to party with Morpheus when, “Grrr.” A low rumble from Shadow’s chest. Then, “Bark.” Muffled. A moment. “Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, bark.” Something had invaded her territory. Go away. Go away. Get thee hence. Vamoose. In urgent Dog. Right by my ear.
She quieted and I did slip away from the surly bounds of consciousness. Another night of Shadow’s.
Artemis: Nathan has two hernias. And a fair amount of work to finish. The cold frames. Lapping the Cedar. Some rubberizing of window spaces and doors. He plans to supervise another carpenter to get Artemis finished, ready for winter.
More and more Tomatoes, mostly still green. Some carrots peeking through. Kale tall and proud. Spinach and Beets, too. I’m having a lot of fun. A dormant part of my life revivified.
Family: Ruth came up last night. Needed a change of scenery. And, she missed me. We saw each other on Kate’s birthday, August 18th. Not since then.
She’s maturing so fast. Holding down two jobs. In her first semester of her new, STEM focused major, Integrative Physiology. Talking about cations and anions. Naming molecules. Also looking ten years ahead, all focused on an M.D.
This is still the week of Jon’s yahrzeit, challenging for both her and Gabe. A bit raw. As well she might be. Yet. Living on her own. Managing multiple sources of money. Handling the work of a difficult major. On her own for good now.
Friends: Saw Alan for lunch at the new Cow in downtown Evergreen. Passable. He was on his way to a 2:30 curtain call. Annie Gets Her Gun on Center Stage. He shaved his always beard, sacrificing for his art.
Just a moment: Chicago will find out why it’s called the Department of War. Jesus. Chipocalypse. I love the smell of deportations in the morning. That loose tether to reality has come unmoored and we’re left with a scared little man who wants to play army with U.S. citizens as the other side. Will no one rid us of this troublesome nut job? Impeach him and be done with him.
Flat Wrong
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Shabbat gratefuls: Shadow, huntress of Chipmunks. Chewer of bones. Cool Morning. The Night Sky. Orion. Leo. Aquarius. Scorpio. Aries. Taurus. Cancer. Virgo. Ursa Major. Draco. Cassiopeia. Betelgeuse. Rigel. Vega. Polaris. Antares. Andromeda. Milky Way. Webb. Hubble. Stellarium. Venus. Mercury. Mars. The Goldilock Zone. Rilke.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Tara
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Ometz Lev. Strength of the heart. The inner strength to move forward.
Tarot: Ace of Cups, (Druid Craft)
- Creativity and inspiration: As the start of the Cups suit, this card indicates a burst of creative inspiration. This may manifest as a new artistic project or an influx of new ideas. Gemini
One brief shining: Eleanor bounded down the stairs, her yellow groomer’s bandana flying, Shadow raced ahead, out the back door, around Artemis, and the two of them ran circles, and circles, and circles chasing each other as Tara and I sat down to coffee, talking, and talking, and talking.
Dog journal: Shadow had a big day yesterday with Eleanor’s visit and Dr. Josy coming by for her Lepto booster. I kept Eleanor while Tara went grocery shopping. When Shadow and Eleanor came inside, they both laid down, having worn each other out.
Dr. Josy played with Shadow, got her to come up and snuggle, pinched her skin, and pushed the needle in. Vaccine complete. Chew on that RFK.
Gardening: Earlier Tara and I toured Artemis. It’s a short tour, but still. She found my Kale, Spinach, and Beets impressive and enjoyed one of the ripe Cherry Tomatoes. She asked me to come over and help her think through her garden, which she describes as less successful than my tiny one.
Touchy. As Tol, Jamie’s son, used to say often: comparison is the thief of joy. Even so. Gardening is something I know about so I can help her identify what she wants to achieve and how best to get there. Sort of exciting.
She wants me to give her a January 28th birthday present, help planning her 2026 garden. Again. Exciting. I spent a bit of time yesterday ordering seed catalogs.
Health: See Buphati on Monday, check out this latest twist. Get a plan for how to move forward. Calm. Yet also aware this could be a new inflection point.
Back to working out regularly. Cardio and resistance. Hitting over 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. I feed Shadow at 6:30 am, then head up stairs for my pre-workout routine: a cup of coffee, two puffs of albuterol, a piece of fruit. After that on to the treadmill and either a leg and back day or an upper body day. That timing allows me to finish somewhere between 7:30 and 7:45, plenty of time for any 8 am calls, or appointments in the morning.
Just a moment: Occupying forces. Federal forces, under the cover of ensuring ICE actions, cutting down crime. Libertarians, unite against this invasion, this government overreach. Show our would-be tyrant that even his allies know this is wrong. Flat wrong.
Justice, compassion, and love
Lughnasa and the Cheshbon Nefesh Moon
Tuesday gratefuls: Two ripe Cherry Tomatoes! Down the hatch straight from the Plant. Sweetness. Food from Artemis. A direct collaboration with Great Sol. Shadow, the dogged huntress. Mythic Quest. The last Dresden Files. A summer project. Reading. Teshuva. Returning to the land of your soul. A mussar curriculum.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Speaking in my voice
Year Kavannah: Wu Wei
Week Kavannah: Ometz Lev. Inner strength to move forward. Courage. Strength of the heart.
Tarot: Four of Wands, (Druid Craft Deck)
- Home and stability: It often represents a new sense of security in your home life, such as establishing a new house or feeling a strong sense of belonging within your family or community. Gemini
One brief shining: Nose filling with the pungency of growing Tomato Plants, my eyes went from left to right, seeing the green, fully formed Fruit on so many branches, yet no color, not a hint of redness until, on the far right, up toward Artemis’ ceiling, two plump round rednesses, the first food I’ve grown in over eleven years. Sweet.
Moving on: These two books, The Violent Take It By Force and Conservatism Rediscovered, plus this previously cited article, How Ivy League Admissions Broke America, help me understand a path beyond the cruelty and moral bankruptcy of the current Republican party.
In the Violent Take It By Force Matthew Stafford describes in detail the loose but nimble organization of the New Apostolic Reformation. Explaining how support for red tie guy could spread quickly and efficiently throughout fifty states. Ensuring crowds at his events, admiring, yeh, even worshipping this blasphemous secular savior.
From this I learn two very important things. 1. We’re being out organized at the grass roots level. Partly, I believe, because our message, the liberal to leftist message, has no clear, clean answer to N.A.R. memes like the Seven Mountains Mandate* or the need to make disciples of nations. 2. If we want to fight back, our message must be equally clear, cleaned of rhetoric, and distributed through core groups in all fifty states.
In Conservatism Rediscovered Hazony lifts up the critical importance of family and community. With which I agree. We have to find a way to embrace family and community from within the diverse, plural world we believe in. One way forward here is through Hazony’s third principle of Conservatism**, Religion.
Those of us in the religious world must reenter the political realm in force and visibly. We need to leverage our existing communities: synagogues, churches, diocese, temples, mosques, meditation and retreat centers, camps, non-profits and find ways to spread our message through and with them.
What is that message? That’s where the Atlantic article comes in. In it David Brooks analyzes an ironic twist in shifting Ivy League admissions from old families with money and legacy to a meritocracy based on grades and I.Q. Our education system, our families, and the rest of higher education slowly changed on the belief that only I.Q. could measure future success. Turns out that’s wrong. Other character traits like resilience, E.Q., courage, and persistence matter more, often much more.
Here’s the message: We want an educational system that trains all of our children in that life path most suited to their own skills and ambitions. We will support families as they figure out if their children want to be plumbers, electricians, scholars, artists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, or stay at home parents. We will work shoulder to shoulder with families as we make this shift from an elite focused on intellect to a nation focused on ability and desire.
Further, we will support local communities with the resources to ensure decent health, food, affordable housing, and public services.
I believe this simple message, perhaps it needs a snappy hook like the Seven Mountains Mandate, will win back the working class, fight the elitist slap conservatives now give us, and show a way forward based on justice, compassion, and love.
- *National conservatism has, according to Hazony, five main principles:
- Historical empiricism
- Nationalism
- Religion
- Limited Executive Power
- Individual Freedom
Hazony, Conservatism, p. 33-34
**The Seven Mountain Mandate is an evangelical Christian movement advocating for followers to exert influence and leadership in seven key societal spheres: religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business. Gemini