Years ago I met up with my father at a hotel in Eilat, after he crossed the Sinai Desert in a four day charity trek from Egypt to Israel. He cried with joy when we said hello. After four days of sandblasted hiking and star-filled camping, they made it to the Promised Land (albeit a 4* hotel). A question: How did their 4 day journey once take 40 years?
Friends of mine recently turned 40. Few had arrived at a place they had wanted to be by the time they hit that milestone. One day they were leaving school, the next they celebrated four decades. Bam. (For clarification, these people don’t live in Los Angeles. Nobody turns 40 in LA. That’s why they put aspartame in the diet sodas: [it turns to formaldehyde which keeps everyone nicely preserved).
Moses takes a census of the 12 tribes (Numb, 26:1). Names, numbers, facts – who cares? Boring. But not for Rashi (1040-1105), who explained that Moses was caring for the tribes in the same way that a Shepherd looks after someone else’s sheep, periodically counting them to ensure his charges are returned.
Kabbalah links the tribes to 12 months of the year (Sefer Yetzirah 5:1). What if we took a census for the 12 months of **our** year? How we are using each day, each hour, each minute? Are we staying on track with our intentions, are we continually aligning our thoughts with our actions, and are en route to our preferred destination, or wandering off-track in a desert?
Yogis ask these questions every day in every posture: Am I breathing smoothly? Are my limbs in the correct placement? Is my balance centered? The practice is being intentional and conscious at every moment.
Life is easier if we kick back at a hotel pool, float across the surface with a Mojito in our hand and gently tan in the afternoon sun. This comes with a major health warning for your life goals: if we fail to count our days and intentions, we can count on failure. Most people get lost in deserts but with close attention to our direction we can cut 40 years down to 4 days. Get Conscious, Get Productive and then Take a Well Earned Break.
See you at the hotel poolside bar.
Love –
Marcus
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KABBALAH SUTRAS: 4 Days Left To Get Your Name In The Book! http://bit.ly/1KtWkj0
