We welcome the new moon.
Cheshvan,
month to turn inward.
Inward, to review and reflect
a time to dive deep
a place of quiet stillness.
But the New Year festivities
Music and rejoicing
were interrupted.
Marred by violence.
Murder of innocents
in their beds, homes, fields.
How can we witness such brutality
while our aching hearts
yearn for peace?
We cry out for an end to
Smoldering hatred
Continual violence
Danger for our children.
Do we not learn anything
traveling this human path
In these mortal bodies?
Must history repeat itself?
We cycle in circles
with cries of revenge
leading us to despair.
Oh, Shechinah, Holy One of Blessing,
Teach us to deepen in awareness
Lift ourselves from
desperate repetition.
Brother killing brother.
Release us from this bondage.
Help us find a place of balance
where darkness transmutes to light.
Let us return to the natural rhythms of
body and earth
Resonate with water and wind
Touch our inner well of wisdom
Come home to our unity
with all sentient beings
And find comfort in heart openings
connecting us to each other and the One.
–Lucinda Kurtz
Smuggling Grace 