Second day of Passover…on to the second symbol on the seder plate: zeroa, the lamb shank, which represents sacrifice. The zeroa symbolizes the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in the ancient Temple. Getting away from the idea of communal sacrifice, I am thinking about personal sacrifice now.
Thus, I ask myself: What will I sacrifice to create positive change in my life?
I must sacrifice some sleep! There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done, so when I think about doing the work I want to do in the world and on myself to create change, I fear I will have to sacrifice sleep. (I am willing, however, to entertain the thought that I can create change in my life that allows for me to do all I want and need to do and still sleep 7-8 hours per night! I’d like to create that positive change in my life…truly!)
I might also have to sacrifice being at home as much. I might have to go out into the world more. I won’t be able to be a hermit. Neither will I be able to remain a bud; I’ll have to bloom for all the world to see.
I’m actually struggling as I write this with the idea of sacrifice. Once I got past the sleep part and wanting to change that thought, I decided that I’d rather have the thought that nothing had to be sacrificed to create positive change. Sacrifice carries such a negative connotation. I’d like to create change in my life in an easy and effortless manner.
The next question I ask myself is: What am I sacrificing in my life that I don’t want to be sacrificing?
This seems easier to answer. I don’t want to sacrifice sleep! I don’t want to sacrifice time away from my family or the things I enjoy doing.
Currently, I feel I am struggling to create change in my life—to become successful, to become more intuitive, to pursue a spiritual path, to improve my relationships—and each time I add something into my life, something gets sacrificed. I feel I’ve actually sacrificed a lot.
By putting so much time into my family, I’ve sacrificed my own pursuits—spirituality, metaphysics, personal growth, horseback riding, cycling, etc. This means I haven’t created the change I wanted personally and I’ve eliminated activities I love from my life. By focusing so much on doing what it takes to be a successful writer (promotion, marketing, etc.), I’ve sacrificed my writing and not finished the projects I started and in which I believed. In the process, I sacrificed some success as a writer. By focusing on earning a living rather than on fulfilling my life’s purpose, I have sacrificed a fulfilling career about which I feel passionate—and I’ve achieved less success.
Zeroa means “arm” in Hebrew, representing God’s “mighty hand and outstretched arm” that freed the Israelites’ from slavery. As I think about zeroa, therefore, I also ask myself: How do I see God’s hand at play in my life?
Ah….I see God’s hand at play in my life constantly. I see God’s hand in my life when an opportunity comes my way; I look back at my life and can understand with hindsight how events have brought me to this moment; a fortune cookie offers me the perfect fortune; a find myself in the right place at the right time; life seems to flow perfectly; words appear on paper magically; I find a flower blooming in my garden despite the fact I’ve left it untended; I see a rainbow when I feel hopeless; a hear good news; and oh, so many other times. I am constantly striving to see God’s hand in my life…and to reach out to hold it.
Again…your turn to answer the questions.
To read all the Passover questions I’ve posed, please visit this column and this one. You don’t have to be Jewish to answer them either; they pertain to anyone and everyone.
