Tuesday, May 8, 2012

This post is part of a continuing series on Spirituality-- by the numbers, One Day At A Time (ODAAT), Boruch Hashem Yom Yom.



Day 113
                113 is the letters “yud” “nun” “gimel” “nun”, spelling the word y’nagen, which translates to “he will sing”, or a command—“Sing”!.
                As I move along in recovery, I find I forget the joy of daily life.  I’m so focused on checking off the items in my daily to-do list, and yes, in my recovery tools list, that Life almost floats by without my noticing.  That is where, for me, making music—singing-- comes in.  When I sing, I connect with the moment.  I cannot be thinking of yesterday’s mistake or worry about tomrrow’s challenge when I’m singing.  In song, I’m in the now, connected with the deepest parts of me.  That’s why I love the experience of making music.
                Today, day 113, my recovery says, “Sing!”  Don’t worry about tomorrow and fret about yesterday—enjoy the moment of today!  I’m here, I’ve made it to this moment, I can be thankful  to my G-d for that, and I can enjoy what is going on around me in this life at this moment!
                But “niggun” is not just any song, it’s a song of melody.  Today, my recovery urges me to hear the sound of the song in nature.  I become the harp on which this melody is played.  Part of my recovery is attuning my heart-strings to the melody of His universe.  As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, zt”l wrote:  l’chol shirayich ani kinor  (“To all of your songs, O Jerusalem, I am a harp.”). 
                Centered, and attuned, for today.