snow

On this snowy morning, it is with profound gratitude that I write this story. If not for the gifts from my father and mother, I would not have had the spaciousness to relax and ponder the mysteries that surround me, and all of us. Thank you, mom, and dad.

I learn by listening, especially to stories.

One of the best storytellers is Rachel Naomi Remen. Her great-great grandfather was a Russian mystic, a student of the Kabbalah, who gifted her with this story on her fourth birthday.

I found it so compelling, I transcribed it, first for myself and now, I’d like to share it with you.

It is “The Story of the Birthday of the World”.

“In the beginning, there was only the holy darkness, the source of all life, and then in the course of history, at a moment in time, this world of a thousand, thousand things emerged, from the heart of this darkness,

as a great ray of light, and

there was an accident,

(it is, after all a Jewish story)

and the vessels containing the light of the world, broke and the light, the wholeness, was scattered into thousands and thousands of pieces and they fell into all events and people

where they have remained deeply hidden until this very day.

The whole human race is a response to this accident.

We are here, we are born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people, to bring it up and make it visible once again, and thereby restore the innate wholeness of the world.”

Dr, Remen goes on to say, “We heal the world one heart at a time. We are all healers of the world.

It is not about healing the world by making a huge difference,

it’s about healing the world that touches you – that’s around you.

This is how we can be of Service.

True service is not a relationship between and expert and a problem.

It is far more genuine than that. It is a relationship between people who bring the full resources of their combined humanity to the table and share them generously.

Service goes beyond expertise.

It’s about being present with one another. That’s where our power is. Service is another way of life.”

May we reflect upon how we each hold the light within us

and remember

our connection with all life.