Grandma says: “This too shall pass.”
In my memory which may or may not correspond to a reality experienced by anyone else, I clearly remember my paternal grandparents gathering with friends and relatives to argue and, occasionally debate, a political campaign or the latest brilliant or absolutely stupid decision of some political figure. This might be the President; the President elect or some local office holder. Depending on the outcome of the election one might hear them loudly lamenting the end of civilization as we knew it. It was, at times, a time for weeping and wailing over the loss of hope for a country or locality which had fallen prey to such insanity as to elect so and so. Of course, this reaction was balanced by those who were sure that the newly elected person would indeed finally show the idiots now in power how to properly run a country or some part of the country. There was no lack of passion about politics. Yet, I cannot recall ever being aware of anyone saying nasty or derogatory about the person with whom they might be having a very passionate disagreement. I also do not recall the voices of the women being any less vocal or opinionated than that of the men. This family was clearly matriarchal. It was also inclusive as far as the Native Americans since they were also family. I do not recall any racist statement. In fact, my paternal grandfather’s brother, Harold had married a full blooded Cherokee Indian – a member of the Self family who is alleged to have participated in the Underground Railroad. In fact, this extended family neglected to fit into any of the tiny boxes which rural, Oklahoma families were put. On the other hand, my material grandparents who lived in Chicago where I was born seemed less vocal in their political and social opinions unless it was to show the racism they had unconsciously internalized. Yet, even in this family, there were some powerful woman who consistently defied the gender rules.
Certainly in both families, but especially in that of my paternal grandparents, there was a strength of perspective combined with their passion which was clearly grounded in the belief that “this too shall pass”. Less a child or adult fell into the trap of believing or acting as if the all hope was lost no matter what the situation, one of the wise, older folks – usually my Grandmother Fannie or her sister Beulah would proclaim “this too will pass”. Passing might be assisted by more active political work or in the case of Aunt Beulah, a more fervent call to pay attention to the teaching of Jesus from the pulpit of the church of which she was a minister, but I do not recall any sense that this most recent event would justify giving up or saying anything which would convey the belief that anyone other than the universe or the God of one’s understanding might be retiring. No matter what, this most recent event was just a blip since the time of the last ice age.
I do think that those powerful men and women, but particularly the women would have threated to have a little “coming to Jesus” or “let’s take trip to the woodshed” talk with both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. They would have made it very clear that the personal attacks, the predictions of doom and the discounting of the sacredness of those supporting their opponent would not be questioned. They also would have loudly insisted that each candidate tell the truth about past misdeeds or out and out stupidity, but yet, they would have done so with enormous love and appreciation for how easy it was to get sucked into reacting instead of acting. Certainly they would have appreciated that this was not the first time that political candidates had taken leave of their senses and acted like hormonal teenagers whose brain regularly took a vacation, but their insistence that the behavior would stop now would not be misunderstood. The candidates would be directed to go to their room and search high and low for the “senses’ which they had obviously dropped or misplaced. Then they would have been told to “get out in the ring and fight fair”. Enough said.
This morning my early emails – some sent in the middle of the night – transmitted shouts of hope or despair. There did not seem much in between. Few expressed a belief that ‘this too shall pass”.
Grandmother Pickett and the other wise women in the family would also “suggest” that those who were unhappy with the results do a little soul searching to uncover what they needed to learn from these results. I stopped typing after this last sentence because it was time to shut down the computer in preparation for my flight to Atlanta and subsequent flight to Tulsa. While traveling to Atlanta I completed the poet, Donald Hall’s book, Essays After Eighty, which just happened to be next on my Kindle to complete. From the distance of Mr. Hall’s 9th decade I gleamed some support in my attempt to view the election results from a more distant perspective. Then I began to read the next book on my Kindle which had been waiting for me for goodness knows how long. I have no idea of when I downloaded it or how long the words therein have been waiting to visit and stretch my thoughts. This book, Repentance: The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah by Dr. Louis Hall speaks in more detail to “This too shall pass.”. In the forward to Dr. Hall’s book, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis writes:
“But the Hebrew Bible and the Rabbinic commentary insist that human sin is neither original nor omnipotent. “Sin couches at the door; its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master (Genesis 4:7). This “Yet” is the promise of teshuvah, the faith in the human possibility to re-create, rebirth, and realize the potential in the divine image buried within the human being. Nature, human and non-human, is now understood to be imperfect. Still, “wheat can ground, the lupine soaked, the bitter herbs sweetened, and the human being perfected.” (Midrash Tanhumah, Tazri’ah) –perfected, but not perfect. Without the “Yet” of human mastery the human being is caught beneath the grinding wheels of inertia and fate.”
In his preface Dr. Hall write, “We can choose to focus on the negative or the positive. Choice becomes the greatest positive we have. We can choose to interpret challenging moments-some the results of our having made bad choices –as if we are the victims of conspiracies to cause our downfall. Or, we can see them as lessons which have shown us our inner strength, our resolve to aspire and preserve, our power to choose differently next time and affect a different outcome. . . We must believe in the human power for change.”
Thanks to Dr. Hall I am again reminded that I have a choice. The caveat to “This too shall pass.” Am I willing to accept responsibility for my part in bringing us as a nation to this historic moment and reminding myself and others that we can make new choices today? Later in the preface Dr. Hall talks about his decision to combine his academic understanding of teshuvah and his personal experience with a 12 step recovery program which demands self-examination and making amends. He does not allow himself the luxury of the distance of merely academic exploration of teshuvah. He demands of himself to look at his own participation or non-participation in the Yetzer (creative force of the universe). This is the challenge all of us must accept. If indeed President Elect Trump has put his finger on the pulse of discontent, fear and pain, it is up to all of us to address that discontent, fear and pain in a positive, creative way. In repenting we open new doors to our thought process and give new meaning to “This too shall pass.”
Written November 9, 2016
In my memory which may or may not correspond to a reality experienced by anyone else, I clearly remember my paternal grandparents gathering with friends and relatives to argue and, occasionally debate, a political campaign or the latest brilliant or absolutely stupid decision of some political figure. This might be the President; the President elect or some local office holder. Depending on the outcome of the election one might hear them loudly lamenting the end of civilization as we knew it. It was, at times, a time for weeping and wailing over the loss of hope for a country or locality which had fallen prey to such insanity as to elect so and so. Of course, this reaction was balanced by those who were sure that the newly elected person would indeed finally show the idiots now in power how to properly run a country or some part of the country. There was no lack of passion about politics. Yet, I cannot recall ever being aware of anyone saying nasty or derogatory about the person with whom they might be having a very passionate disagreement. I also do not recall the voices of the women being any less vocal or opinionated than that of the men. This family was clearly matriarchal. It was also inclusive as far as the Native Americans since they were also family. I do not recall any racist statement. In fact, my paternal grandfather’s brother, Harold had married a full blooded Cherokee Indian – a member of the Self family who is alleged to have participated in the Underground Railroad. In fact, this extended family neglected to fit into any of the tiny boxes which rural, Oklahoma families were put. On the other hand, my material grandparents who lived in Chicago where I was born seemed less vocal in their political and social opinions unless it was to show the racism they had unconsciously internalized. Yet, even in this family, there were some powerful woman who consistently defied the gender rules.
Certainly in both families, but especially in that of my paternal grandparents, there was a strength of perspective combined with their passion which was clearly grounded in the belief that “this too shall pass”. Less a child or adult fell into the trap of believing or acting as if the all hope was lost no matter what the situation, one of the wise, older folks – usually my Grandmother Fannie or her sister Beulah would proclaim “this too will pass”. Passing might be assisted by more active political work or in the case of Aunt Beulah, a more fervent call to pay attention to the teaching of Jesus from the pulpit of the church of which she was a minister, but I do not recall any sense that this most recent event would justify giving up or saying anything which would convey the belief that anyone other than the universe or the God of one’s understanding might be retiring. No matter what, this most recent event was just a blip since the time of the last ice age.
I do think that those powerful men and women, but particularly the women would have threated to have a little “coming to Jesus” or “let’s take trip to the woodshed” talk with both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. They would have made it very clear that the personal attacks, the predictions of doom and the discounting of the sacredness of those supporting their opponent would not be questioned. They also would have loudly insisted that each candidate tell the truth about past misdeeds or out and out stupidity, but yet, they would have done so with enormous love and appreciation for how easy it was to get sucked into reacting instead of acting. Certainly they would have appreciated that this was not the first time that political candidates had taken leave of their senses and acted like hormonal teenagers whose brain regularly took a vacation, but their insistence that the behavior would stop now would not be misunderstood. The candidates would be directed to go to their room and search high and low for the “senses’ which they had obviously dropped or misplaced. Then they would have been told to “get out in the ring and fight fair”. Enough said.
This morning my early emails – some sent in the middle of the night – transmitted shouts of hope or despair. There did not seem much in between. Few expressed a belief that ‘this too shall pass”.
Grandmother Pickett and the other wise women in the family would also “suggest” that those who were unhappy with the results do a little soul searching to uncover what they needed to learn from these results. I stopped typing after this last sentence because it was time to shut down the computer in preparation for my flight to Atlanta and subsequent flight to Tulsa. While traveling to Atlanta I completed the poet, Donald Hall’s book, Essays After Eighty, which just happened to be next on my Kindle to complete. From the distance of Mr. Hall’s 9th decade I gleamed some support in my attempt to view the election results from a more distant perspective. Then I began to read the next book on my Kindle which had been waiting for me for goodness knows how long. I have no idea of when I downloaded it or how long the words therein have been waiting to visit and stretch my thoughts. This book, Repentance: The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah by Dr. Louis Hall speaks in more detail to “This too shall pass.”. In the forward to Dr. Hall’s book, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis writes:
“But the Hebrew Bible and the Rabbinic commentary insist that human sin is neither original nor omnipotent. “Sin couches at the door; its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master (Genesis 4:7). This “Yet” is the promise of teshuvah, the faith in the human possibility to re-create, rebirth, and realize the potential in the divine image buried within the human being. Nature, human and non-human, is now understood to be imperfect. Still, “wheat can ground, the lupine soaked, the bitter herbs sweetened, and the human being perfected.” (Midrash Tanhumah, Tazri’ah) –perfected, but not perfect. Without the “Yet” of human mastery the human being is caught beneath the grinding wheels of inertia and fate.”
In his preface Dr. Hall write, “We can choose to focus on the negative or the positive. Choice becomes the greatest positive we have. We can choose to interpret challenging moments-some the results of our having made bad choices –as if we are the victims of conspiracies to cause our downfall. Or, we can see them as lessons which have shown us our inner strength, our resolve to aspire and preserve, our power to choose differently next time and affect a different outcome. . . We must believe in the human power for change.”
Thanks to Dr. Hall I am again reminded that I have a choice. The caveat to “This too shall pass.” Am I willing to accept responsibility for my part in bringing us as a nation to this historic moment and reminding myself and others that we can make new choices today? Later in the preface Dr. Hall talks about his decision to combine his academic understanding of teshuvah and his personal experience with a 12 step recovery program which demands self-examination and making amends. He does not allow himself the luxury of the distance of merely academic exploration of teshuvah. He demands of himself to look at his own participation or non-participation in the Yetzer (creative force of the universe). This is the challenge all of us must accept. If indeed President Elect Trump has put his finger on the pulse of discontent, fear and pain, it is up to all of us to address that discontent, fear and pain in a positive, creative way. In repenting we open new doors to our thought process and give new meaning to “This too shall pass.”
Written November 9, 2016
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