The Fow Ti had an special practice.  Every morning he would go out to a near by lake, and sit down with his feet in the water.  In the winter the water would be cold, but still, he would stick his feet in the water.  He would sit this way for some time before getting up and walking back to begin the rest of his day.
He said that his feet were like fish, they needed to breathe in the water.
He said that when one allows his feet to immerse themselves in water every day such a person will grow up thirsty for knowledge.
He said that one who wears shoes all day and do not let one's feet breathe will never be thirsty, and will never drink.

I wonder sometimes.

When I stand to pray my feet are united into one foot - like the angels.  My feet are rooted in the ground, and even when I get lost in prayer my feet are always there to guide me back to where I am standing.  I find this spiritual practice to be very helpful.  It expands me.  I can, at a single moment be in more than one place.  My feet are on the ground as my head soars above - out of this world.  And into places unknown.  Or places known.

My feet are wet.

I am excited to return to a normal schedule of life.  I have made much progress over the last half year.
I left Rosh Hashana with a strong desire to change what I was doing - and so it happened: we moved, I quit my job, and started learning at Pardes.  Now I have just gone through the funnels of freedom and I come out happily ready to continue my life where it was.  I am truly free.
There is still much unknown, much to be decided for the future and so much more to grow, but I feel that I am on the right track.
Sometimes this can lead to a wonderful tumbling of ideas and prospects of what might happen if ... and then I just get overwhelmed
It's nice that I have a good place to come back to - so that I can go tumbling again.

Today is Hod of Hesed - Splendor of Kindness
How quickly we arrive at the last day of Pesach!
Yet here we are - ready for the sea to split and we'll walk right through.  and how lucky we are that every year at just this time the sea splits for us, wherever we are.  We can find the secret escape route, we find the solution to a problem that has been disturbing us for a while.  We find the way out of our feelings of scarcity and hardship and realize that right here and right now we can feel plentiful and calm.  The very particles of air split apart , allowing us a safe passage between them as we walk through.
When the sea splits it will be because of th Foundation of Kindness.  Now all that is left is for us to keep on walking.  For 49 days.  And then keep on walking again.
If we can internalize this day then we can recall it whenever we like.

Hag Sameach

Our Passover Seder was a night of Freedom and Singing.  It reinforced my awareness of the constant presence of The Holy Blessed One.
The next day we went up north, along with so many other people looking for a nice few days of vacation.  And we found just that at a little desert spring Ein Succot - where we took our first dip.  It was really nice to jump in the cool water and dry off in the sun eating matza brai and coffee.  This was Eden's first time at any body of water bigger than our bathtub.  She was a little shocked and scared, but after a few minutes of sitting in the mud on the edge of the water she was having a great time; still not ready to get in, but then again she's only 1.
Just like in the song from Beauty and the Beast "We don't like what we don't understand, infact it scares us"

At a beach on the Sea of Galilee a group of high schooler's brought a huge speaker and started blasting music.  We left immediately.

It was too much for me - too much traffic, too much pushing, too crowded.

I look for calm surroundings.  At work, at home, on the road, as well as with friends - internally as well.

I want this to be my Freedom.

"You are always free unless you are captured" - Fow Ti

Last night I cooked two artichokes.  The second one was still on the table when my brother in law came over, so he tried a leaf - having never eaten an artichoke before.
And naturally the question arose - how did we ever find out that the insides of an artichoke are edible?
Just another incident in life that makes us stop
suddenly
and reflect on the long chain of humanity and what we have accomplished and destoyed.  Traditions thousands of years old that are as fresh in our minds as if they happened today.  And the fact that I cannot remember what happened yesterday in the morning.
How lucky for us that we don't remember everything that happened,  what clutter there would be.
and how blessed we are that we do remember and relive our Existential Beginning every day and every year on Pesach
and that we know how to eat an artichoke!

I just spent an hour with Eden in the park.  She was the youngest person playing there, but she was having as good a time as any.  there were a few children who were digging a canal from the base of a water fountain towards the grass next to it.  they were even happier than they were muddy.  None of this interested Eden as much as the little sticks and leaves that she could put in her mouth.
As the Fow Ti says:
"Interest is only a function of perception"

And so it is.  I find this true in terms of Pesach cleaning as well.
Also - I really love Pesach cleaning - its a time where I get to check in with every object I own.

When I was finishing the dishes before Shabbat, and there were 10 minutes until candel lighting, and I still hadn't taken a shower I was feeling the Pre-Shabbos stress.  And I realized that I would work just as fast, if not faster, if I wasn't focusing energy on rushing.  It helped a little, but I was still stressed.  I have calmed down since then.  We had a very nice shabbat.  And now I will try to remember that this week too as I clean up for Pesach.
There is external cleaning, and internal cleaning - getting rid of the physical bread as well as the over-inflated characteristics and habits I have picked up over the years.
I still haven't found a nice bottle of Extra Concentrated Wipe N' Clean for the soul...