Every Day is Sacred & Meaningful!

I recently reread a book I found some years ago, Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe by Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was head of the Lubavitcher movement for over 40 years and died in the mid-1990s. The book has many practical ideas for bringing more spirituality into one's life and it really got me thinking about the many sacred moments in my day that seem to be mundane, but really aren't.

One chapter focuses on one's daily existence, and how to make it more holy. Start the day by praying, with intention (kavannah), the Jewish morning prayers.

Elohai Neshamah shenatata bi, t'hora hi. (the "i" in "bi" and "hi" rhymes with "he"): The Soul You have placed in me is pure.
OR,
Modah (fem) Modeh (masc) ani l'fanecha, melech chai v'chayyam. Thank you God for restoring my soul to me.

When you sleep, your soul travels. Just before you awaken, if you are to awaken, God places your soul back into your body. For that, be thankful! Then, before you get out of bed, reflect on making the day meaningful, scanning over the things you have scheduled and the approach you want to bring to these encounters.

At night, many people say the Shema. Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai Echad. Hear (Listen Deeply) People of Israel, God/Adonai's Majesty is Everywhere, All United/Whole.
Some say this as "protection" from evil occuring while they sleep. As you lie in bed, before you go to sleep, reflect on the day, reviewing how you used your gifts, where you found purpose, peace, and sacredness in your encounters, and promise yourself to do even better tomorrow.

Just bringing this realization to your consciousness will do much to help you find more peace and holiness in your seemingly mundane encounters and experiences each day. It will also help you feel lighter and more joyful, no matter what might be burdening you.

Eternal Presence

How do you know that HaShem is with you? Do you consciously sense it? Do you see it? What evidence do you look towards to know that The Creator is with you? This thought occurred to me yesterday as I was nearly run off the road on the highway by a crazy driver. In moments like that, when we are saved from something horrible, we feel that "someone, some force is watching out for me." Some people might even think that "it's not my time yet" so that is why I was spared.
It is in those moments we might sense HaShem's presence most keenly, as is written in Psalm 18, v.17-19:
"He reached down from on high, He took me,
He drew me out of deep waters.
He saved me from my mighty enemy,
And my foes who were stronger than I.
They confronted me on the day of my calamity,
But Adonai was my support."

Yet, it is also in those small moments, when nothing "big" seems to be happening, the moments may seem mundane, or common, but Adonai is also with us then.

Movement

A friend sent me a list of sayings and I picked out two that made me stop and pause: from Albert Einstein: "Life is like a bicycle--to keep your balance you must keep moving." A Yiddish proverb states, "You can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails." Movement. Sometimes I move without thinking about it.... and other times I must stop before I make my next move. Oftentimes during a busy day, I keep moving and rarely stop and I'm exhausted by the end of the day. Towards that end, I am making myself pause in doorways (when it's safe!) to catch my breath, awaken my awareness, become conscious to get out of autopilot mode and even say a little prayer. How often the winds of our day carry us to and fro, and our own little boat of Self gets tossed around, yet we manage to adjust our sails and keep going. Sometimes, big waves crash down on us and we are overcome, nearly sinking. We pull through it, though.