‘Tis the season of overwhelm. So I reach for grounding. One place I consistently find it is in the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Heschel was a Jewish theologian and philosopher who escaped the Holocaust, helped in the movement to free Soviet Jews, and played a large role in the Civil Rights movement. He famously marched on Selma alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a person, he sounds amazing. As a philosopher, he speaks directly to me.
Here are just a few quotes that simultaneously ground and inspire me.
“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”
“The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song.Prayer may not save us. But prayer may make us worthy of being saved.”
“Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power…Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art.”
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