by Dr. David Sanders
What sinks me into a state of despair?
Is it the blood shed or the numbness I feel?
Is it the tears that well up or the pain I cannot absorb?
Is it the contemptuous and hate filled words or the normalizing of that language?
Is there a rock I can hide under or a rock under which evil can be buried?
Is it the next terror perpetrated or fearing it will never end?
Is it that I have lost faith in the spark and that Leonard Cohen was right?
He warned: “You want it darker; we kill the flame.”
What raises me out of the dark night of the soul?
What can possibly be an antidote to despair?
I find solace with others in a shared wisdom.
In the forging of a new story.
A new story for humanity.
Many have sacrificed their lives for it.
May we find a way to honor their courage.
2 Responses
Poignant.
Thank you for saying what is in so many of our hearts. It is hard not to give into despair and the dark. Too much tragedy, war, deception and destruction, we, as individuals cannot hold it all.
I attend your classes, participate in holidays and am proudly Jewish partly because generation after generation Jewish people have fought against persecution and despair. The circumstances are unique, yet we must sing together, and hope/pray for peace. It is the essence of Shalom, May there be peace. May love and light shine upon us all.