Malchut ShebeNetzakh
Shekhinah, Majesty, Sovereignty, Exaltedness, Humility; Union of Opposites; Paradox and Limitation within Eternity, Forever, Splendor, Perpetuity, Endurance, Long-Lasting, and Spiritual Victory.
Quality: Surrender to Oneness
Surrender is not a popular word in the physical world. It means to capitulate, give in or up, concede, submit…
Spiritual surrender is to release one’s self from ego – will, ungrounded intellectual or physical determination, unchecked certitudes, assumed security – to be with the uncertainty of “I don’t know.” This, I’ve discovered, can also be a place of blessing. I have nothing to prove. I have nothing to lose. I can relax and be with what is precisely because there is nothing to do and nothing to lose.
Spiritual surrender is an invitation to see clearly what is present in this moment and to be with it without manipulation through gimmicks or tricks or arguments or false sincerity. Spiritual surrender is the moment in which we pause to recover our balance. We own that we have nothing up our sleeves and cease pushing for our way, our agenda, our plans. We recover our sense of wonder grounded in the present. We recover our sense of connection to Life – past and present with nothing to predict about the future. We stop trying to make or do, and just be.
In Judaism, there is the belief that:
• When we receive good news, we are to praise The Holy One, Blessed Be The One.
• When we receive bad news, we are to praise The Holy One, Blessed Be The One.
• What if we don’t know if the news is good or bad? All the more reason to praise The Holy One, Blessed Be The One!
Why, you might ask, would one stop and praise God with the receipt of bad news? My experience is that:
• When it is good news, I am reminded that I am connected to something greater than me, and that I did not get to the moment along.
• When it is bad news, I am reminded that I am connected to something greater than me, and that I will not get to the other side if I try to do it alone.
• When the outcome is pending, I am still connected and I am not alone
Life shows up how Life shows up. It’s easy to relate to blessings and the ordinary. Sometimes, though, we forget that we do not arrive to sweet moments by ourselves. People and Life aligned to contribute to our success, our joy.
Sorrows tests everything we know until we relate to them, too, as part of Life. When we collapse with our brokenness, Life aids us in finding our resilience, the steppingstones to the path of recovery. On these paths, when we take the time to notice, we can experience moments of intense connection to all there is. In those moments, we strangely, magically feel more connected to Life.
Certainly, I feel joys more intensely precisely because I know the depths of sorrow. The invitation is to:
• Surrender to Oneness when Life is good because many aided you!
• Surrender to Oneness when Life is hard because many surround and care for you!
• Surrender to Oneness when things are uncertain because you are connected!
We have now counted four weeks of Omer. If you look beyond the horizon, you might see the clouds atop The Mountain.
Blessings!
Sabrina
© Sabrina Sojourner 2020
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