Couldn’t Be Better!

Sheila Peltz Weinberg, who teaches meditation for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, has a wonderful response whenever anyone asks how she’s doing. “Couldn’t be better!” Shelia says. No matter how badly things are going, that’s her response. She insists she’s telling the truth.

What she means is: Whatever conditions led us to this moment they have now unfolded, they can’t be changed, and they could only have given rise to precisely what is. It couldn’t be better; it couldn’t be worse; it could only be this.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Sheila’s teaching lately, ever since the defeat of the gun-control bill requiring background checks which was supported by 90% of Americans. Shameful, heartbreaking, dispiriting. And right now it couldn’t be better. Which is not to say that in the future it won’t be. We very much hope that it will.

Meditation is usually thought of as being about the cultivation of what in Hebrew is sometimes called menuchat hanefesh, equanimity, a restful soul; the capacity to be with whatever is - pleasant or unpleasant - unruffled, calm, still, utterly in the moment. But there is also a place for something which is very much about what we wish for the future. It’s called kavanah, or intention.

Think of the simple act of walking. At one point the full weight of our body needs to be centered and balanced, resting on one foot. But then we need to intend where the other foot will place itself. Resting, intending, lifting, placing; resting, intending, lifting, placing. I rest in the present; I intend the future. What is is; what will be is yet to be.

And so we remain as committed as ever to a future in which our country is a safer, less violent place. In recent days we’ve heard from Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, from former Arizona Senator Gabby Giffords, and from President Obama. They have not given up on gun safety legislation, and neither should we. To that end please continue to support the work of Demand A Plan, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Americans for Responsible Solutions. 

Rabbi Mark Sameth  - named one of the 36 most inspiring rabbis in America by The Jewish Daily Forward - is the spiritual leader of Joyful Judaism: Pleasantville Community Synagogue an inclusive, progressive synagogue – with members from twenty towns, villages and cities all across Westchester and “A Hebrew School Your Kids Can Love.” Read The New York Times article. Follow Rabbi Mark on Twitter . Weekly meditation at the synagogue every Saturday morning at 9 am is open to the public; everyone – without exception - is welcome and warmly invited. OUR MEMBERSHIP DRIVE IS ON. See “Top Ten Reasons to Join PCS” - as well as service times and events - at www.ShalomPCS.com.