

I probably would not be described as fanatical housekeeper. I can live with a bit of dust for
awhile. I don’t have to empty the dish
drainer before company comes. OK -so I
am a bit fussy about the bathroom. But
lately, I have taken to doing a lot of yard work, going after weeds with a
vengeance, brooming cobwebs off the exterior logs of our home, scraping and
painting the foundations, cleaning out flower beds, trimming back bushes and
raking the yard smooth - - trying to bring a sense of order and serenity to the
space that surrounds our home.
Curiously, I have had a lot of energy for this endeavor.
The pay-off has been my enjoyment of a sense of pleasure as I walk
about our simple yard. We have an
“island” landscape and lawn- which means no beautiful green grass to be
mowed, no manicured gardens, no sculpted shrubberies. Basically we just keep the “jungle” from
encroaching too much. And yet, there is
still this inner urge to create an orderly, serene space around our home.

I have been reflecting on my need to create order. I could become compulsive about it. I realized that my tolerance for chaos has
been and continues to be severely tested by the relentless assault on my sense
of order - whether it is the terrible chaos at our southern border, and the
human suffering it has unleashed, or the great uncertainty of the anticipation
of full blown trade wars. The
orderliness of civility and common decency staggers under the daily beatings. As summer unfolds on our lovely island and
the multitudes come to enjoy the sun and sand, the level of aggression and in-civility is noticeably worse than last year during the first two weeks of
July.

Alan Morinis in his book “Every Day Holiness” writes that “....disorder inevitably involves some sort of dishonor. The only question is, what or who is the
target of dishonor?” He says “It’s interesting that we use the phrase
“unholy mess” to describe a situation that has really been trashed, because to
be disorderly dishonors [not only
human beings, but] inanimate things that
are also part of our lives and may also be our responsibility....The real
“unholy mess,” of course, is the disorder we bring to divine service, in
whatever ways we might serve God, which dishonors HaShem....All of us are,
after all, made in the divine image, and so when we dishonor people we dishonor
God...”

There are days when it is so hard to live joyfully in the
face of such disorder and disrespect of the holiness of Life. “Hegemony” isn’t a word I use every
day. It came into my vocabulary years
ago in seminary. I had to look it up
again to be sure I was understanding it correctly. It means “a preponderant influence or
authority.” We are living under the
hegemony of the “Trump Era” - - a time when chaos and disorder, disrespect and
dishonoring color so much of life around us.
It creates stress in every corner of life. As I age, I find it difficult to do the big
actions that might effect change. It is
easy to get lost in feeling so small.
There is a danger inherent in allowing myself to sink into that
smallness though.

Rev. Vicky Hanjian
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