Completion and the Art of Receiving
The month of June offers a sense of completion for so many of us in different ways. If it is not your own completion, then perhaps it was watching your children or loved one’s graduation from various programs. And following completion, I always wonder why I begin feeling anxiety. The gratification and contentment fades as quickly as the sun sets.
Did you know that Judaism does not believe in the concept of graduation? There is no biblical mention of the concept of graduation, and there is not even a Hebrew word for graduation.
Perhaps our tradition has been trying to teach us an important lesson in regards to why a graduation certificate has such a short shelf life. Our Sages teach that true learning is a life-long experience, and we have lasted this long because education is a foundational value. Practicing Judaism is “a journey” not necessarily a destination. Isn’t that the gist of the 5 books of Moses? At the end of his journey, Moses gets no reward for leading and teaching the people. He doesn’t even enter into the Promised land. We learn from Moses that his responsibility was to know when his job was complete and that his next spiritual level was to keep passing the baton from generation to generation.
I love that humble reminder that our purpose is to think of the next generation. However, I have found that to do that gracefully, I must remember first to take this baby step. This brilliant baby step is the “art of receiving” - taking in all that I have done well to arrive at this moment. I must take the time to integrate my successes into my physical system, and only then can I graduate to the next level.
How do you do this? First I track my successes, I literally write down all that I have “done well” every month. Then I need to review it, over and over again, because I so easily forget. If I do not “receive” (which resembles filling up a cup), all that I have done well by naming it, and feeling joy in it, my life becomes an exhausting circle of moving from one achievement to the next. Can you relate?
July is also the perfect time to do an “art of receiving” meditation. I imagine that I am sitting by the ocean, or a body of water; and allow the summer breeze to sweep my body of any negative thoughts; or unfinished business.
I sit down; close my eyes and in my mind’s eye review all that I have done well. Then write it down, in a list. For example: I had a great and loving conversation; I took care of my checkups, tried a new recipe, made someone smile, etc.
I close my eyes and I imagine all of my “wins” mixing together in a nourishing and delicious elixir. I pour it into a golden cup and I drink it all. I imagine all of that liquid love and appreciation, like medicine, or vitamins, energizing me into wholeness.
Here is the last and most important step. I give myself permission to “not do” anything more. The only task I have left is to receive.
May you use this important baby step, to enhance your wellness as we walk together through the sacred cycle of the upcoming Jewish New Year.
