Moment to Moment - Etty Hillesum

...every moment gives birth to a new moment...

Life courses through one as a constant current in a great

series of moments, each having its own place in the day.

...whenever suffering thrusts itself upon us we must not
avoid it - but accept it.

Does that mean I am never sad, that I never rebel, always
acquiesce, and love life no matter what the circumstances?

No, far from it.  I believe that I know and share the many
sorrows and sad circumstances that a human being
experiences, but.....they pass through me, like life itself;
as a broad, eternal stream, they become part of that stream,
and life continues...

...ought we not, from time to time, open ourselves up to
cosmic sadness?

Your sorrow must become an integral part of yourself.
You mustn't run away from it, but bear it like an adult.
Do not relieve your feelings through hatred, do not seek
to be avenged on all German mothers, for they, too,
sorrow at this very moment for their slain and murdered
sons.  Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself
that is its due, for if everyone bears his grief honestly and
courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate.
But if you do not clear a decent shelter for your sorrow, and
instead reserve most of the space inside for your hatred and
thoughts of revenge - then sorrow will never cease in this
world and will multiply...

Etty Hillesum
From: Etty Hillesum - Essential Writings
by Annemarie S. Kidder

Etty was Dutch living in Nazi occupied Netherlands
during the Holocaust, and died in Auschwitz at the age
of 28 or 29. Her writings were taken from her journals.

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering
"walking in Divine shoes"

~

May all those observing Hanukkah
find peace in their sorrow...

 

 

The Rhythm of Sadness...

 A deep rhythm of sadness
arises from my heart...
unexpectedly,
spontaneously...

It rises even though
I "know"
that before thought and feeling
"I" am Eternal Beingness.

The rhythm of sadness
is not assuaged
with the knowledge
that "I am That"...

It will not be held back, suffocated
by the sand bags of knowledge of
"the teachings,"
from the caverns of the mind...

It matters not to
"The Eternal"
that sadness and grief
arise in this mechanism called
"me",
like the tides of the ocean,
rising and falling
in a darkened harbor;
felt not seen...

It is held in the embrace of "The Eternal"
breathing me...

It just is - sadness,
rising and falling
through
me

I follow the rhythm of sadness
breathing into the Heart
where it meets
The Rhythm

of
"The Eternal"
and slowly
becomes

rivulets
of energy;
just energy,
decreasing in
intensity.

Only to rise again,
on the next tide...

Mystic Meandering
updated version 2/3/2021

~

Sadness is not something you need to fix,
cure, or transform.  It need not be healed, but held.
You need not shift sadness into some "higher" state, or
apply teachings so that it will yield into something else.
For it is complete and pure on its own.

With the fire of awareness and the ally of your breath,
touch your heart...

Go on a journey into the core of the feeling, the sensation,
the images, and the raw, shaky life that is longing to be held.

And listen.

It is by way of this journey that sadness will be revealed to 
be what it is, a bridge into the universal heart, a messenger
of power, mercy, and fierce compassion...

Matt Licata

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

Moment to Moment - Etty Hillesum

...every moment gives birth to a new moment...

Life courses through one as a constant current in a great
series of moments, each having its own place in the day.

...whenever suffering thrusts itself upon us we must not
avoid it - but accept it.
Does that mean I am never sad, that I never rebel, always
acquiesce, and love life no matter what the circumstances?
No, far from it.  I believe that I know and share the many
sorrows and sad circumstances that a human being
experiences, but.....they pass through me, like life itself;
as a broad, eternal stream, they become part of that stream,
and life continues...

...ought we not, from time to time, open ourselves up to
cosmic sadness?

Your sorrow must become an integral part of yourself.
You mustn't run away from it, but bear it like an adult.
Do not relieve your feelings through hatred, do not seek
to be avenged on all German mothers, for they, too,
sorrow at this very moment for their slain and murdered
sons.  Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself
that is its due, for if everyone bears his grief honestly and
courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate.
But if you do not clear a decent shelter for your sorrow,
and instead reserve most of the space inside you for hatred
and thoughts of revenge - then sorrow will never cease in
this world and will multiply...

Etty Hillesum

From: Etty Hillesum - Essential Writings

by Annemarie S. Kidder

Etty was living in Nazi occupied Netherlands during
the Holocaust, and died in Aushwitz at the age of
28 or 29.  Her writings were taken from her journals.

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering
"walking in another's shoes"