Rid ourselves of outrage with....Kosher OUTRAGE!!
Today I discovered that if there is a fault within me that is persistent that I want to do better with, I can be effective in getting my own cooperation by saying lovingly to myself that my continued persistence in this (self-)destructive behavior or hurtful feeling is outrageous because I know better (we have no separate existence from Hashem and everything that happens is good and that we make the Divine will our will - we are here to serve the Divine will, not to react badly to it or fall into the hands of the yetzer hara's temptations to go astray. By so doing, I create a choice for myself where before I might have seen my pain as my whole self. Now I can see it as only a part of myself. I can see that feeling this way is not good for me, will not take me where I want to go and therefore, it is outrageous for me to entertain the idea or consider it futher. When dealing on an emotional level of pain, the use of the word outrageous in this context is quite effective.
Saying this lovingly to myself (outloud in hisbodidus) really helped! It was not abusive, as it might be understood if I said it to another person, because I know what my idealistic value is and I am just having an inner dialogue with myself. But the use of outrage in this way really helps to penetrate the inappropriate feelings of outrage.
Thus, when we feel outrage that we are not more like Hashem, then we have found a great use of outrage to help ourselves understand.
BEWARE of using this outside of the self, where it will be viewed as confrontational and possibly abusive. The ONLY goal of using outrage as suggested here is to make myself into someone who is able to shine love and more of Hashem's attributes of mercy. THAT is our role.
If we see outrageous conduct in others - pray for mercy for them,. that they are able to make themselves more like the Holy One in whose image we are created - lovingkind, ,merciful, truthful, peaceful Then we bring nachas to our father Avraham Aveinu because his message is that there is only One Gd and that the entire world is His.
The misuse of the powerful emotional tool of outrage by anyone who uses it to claim a moral authority other than the ultimate truth of emulating Hashem's Thirteen attributes of mercy, can cause so much damage. We must remember we are not here to render Divine justice. We are here to shape ourselves like the Divine Image and create lovingkindness.
If the goal is to sanctify Hashem, to bring His light to the world, then anything that is hurtful in His eyes is out of the question and certainly cannot be done in the name of bringing His light and His love to the world. Let us use outrage only to eradicate from our internal selves our own negativity that is blocking us from bringing peace and love to the world, not hurtfulness, death, revenge or destruction. Avraham Aveinu is the father of all the monotheistic religions and many nations. His goal was for the world to see the Creator. May all the nations of the world carry forward his vision and ideology with peacefulness and cooperation, abandoning emotion for acceptance and peace and a united desire to see a new light in the world.. Forgiveness, peace, mercy - this is what brings nachas to our forefathers for then we distinguish ourselves as being in the Divine image and above our animalistic physicality.
Addendum: When I see the outrage expressed by our enemies because of the existence of the land of Israel, and when I see how effective that outrage is in claiming moral high-ground with statements like, "they are on OUR land!!!" and how heart-wrenchingly said that is, I realize that outrage is part of the way our emotional makeup hears morality. When we can understand someone, when we hear that outrage claiming moral authority, we identify and hear the cause and presume the speaker to have the moral high-ground they claim. What can Israel do to counter? Facts are facts and the land is a legal entity.. It is not an emotional issue. Period. Thus, the emotion that is beingdirected at us must have a purpose - Is Hashem outraged with us? Are we using our sense of outrage to eradicate the roadblocks that keep us from unified service to His Will, from being Klal Yisrael, from being the Chosen People? Perhaps instead of all the outrage rhetoric and politics we might take it upon ourselves to hear the outrage not about the land per se, but rather let us use this tremendous negative screaming outrage to speak to each of us internally - am I holding onto habits and blockages that are keeping me from bringing Hashem's light and love into the world? Do I hold beliefs that are causing disunity amongst the Jewish people and keeping Klal Yisrael in golus, separated and disunified? Can I honestly say to myself "It is outrageous that I feel so distant from my people and my nation - Hashem please help me to rise above my blockages and personal beliefs to see that my greater belief and survival depends on listening to a still, smaller voice, a voice that beckons me to emulate Hashem's attributes of Mercy and love." Our role is not to sort out the politics. Hashem will, as He has done in the past, throw us off our land or allow us to live in the land. Our role is to reprove our wayward habits, to re-form ourselves into a holy nation, the Chosen people. May our mouths utter words of prayer, hisbodidus, and constructive dialogue that is pleasing to Hashem and that will unite us and restore us to Klal Yisrael, and may Hashem bring a new light to the world and a leader to show us how to continue properly down the path of holiness.
Categories: G-d Consciousness, Hisbodidus, Divine will
Comments