Upside Down World

Have you ever gone scuba diving or snorkeling? More on this in a minute. But first…

 

Times are tense and people are having intense polarizing reactions to politics and sports.

 

For starters we need to bring some breathing into the world. So, stop now and breathe. It makes it all better, whether you are upset at the politics or excited about it, upset at the winner/loser of the Superbowl or excited about it. Whichever side of the aisle you are on your strong reactions are having an effect on the world’s equilibrium.

 

Yes, I know some of you will tell me that there are issues here worth being excited about and making lots of noise about and I can appreciate that. But, if we want to bring about change or if we support the change that is going on, we’ll all do much better if we breathe a bit more and are more patient and calculated about how we respond to those around us.

 

***

 

Back to the scuba diving/snorkeling. When you put your head beneath the water you suddenly are introduced to an entirely new world. The colors, the shapes, the life that is teeming beneath the sea’s surface and how it changes from one region of the world to the other!

 

But when you are sitting on the beach all you see is endless waves and endless water.

 

It’s kind of what is going on in the world right now. What we see on the surface is rocky waves. It may be exciting for some and frightening for others. But when we go beneath the surface the miracle of G-d’s masterplan begins to unfold.

 

Patience (and breathing) is necessary to see things through to the end.

 

***

 

This is the miracle of the splitting of the sea we read about in this weeks Torah portion. It is up to us to believe in G-d’s master plan and do our part in getting to the bottom of things. Then and in the right time the sea will split for us to see the beauty of G-d’s world and all His people.

 

Have a great Shabbos!