Beauty. Harmony. Balance. Heart. Compassion within Eternity. Day-to-Day. Active Force. Stepping Forward. Endurance. Perseverance.
Monday, May 13
One way to think about Netzach is as the aspect of life that is the Day-to-Day. Jay Michaelson offers several examples of this, juxtaposing Netzach with its counterpart Hod. To paraphrase... Hod:Inspiration::Netzach:Perspiration; Hod:Romantic Evenings::Netzach:Childcare logistics; Hod:Ecstasy::Netzach::Laundry. That makes this Netzach thing sound anywhere from messy to outright dull.
Well, maybe that is even so. Does messy or dull mean BAD? Tiferet SheBeNetzach asks us, among other things, to see the Beauty in sweat, in doing the dishes, in all of those logistical conversations with our spouses, without which the whole structure would crumble.
For a variety of reasons - some present-day, some more historical - I am a person who finds great Beauty in the Day-to-Day, especially given the opportunity to reflect like this. At the moment, I am at the end of my first day of returning to full functionality after canceling my life for 2 weeks. There was much Beauty to be found today in doing family and professional administrative work, teaching a student, having a planning meeting, running a printer ink errand with my daughter. All of this without needing to collapse for 2 hours! (Last week, all it took for that was plodding along with the dog for 10 minutes.)
In the bigger picture of my life, there was a time during which I didn’t have much going for me in the Day-to-Day department. Without going into great detail, let us say I wasn’t in great shape, and by that I don’t mean I wasn’t running marathons as a hobby or benching 150 (still don’t). When I was offered, and finally accepted a kit of spiritual and practical tools to get myself on better footing, things like taking out the trash became joyous occasions.
Tiferet also teaches us about Balance. Ultimately, what led me to the dark hours of my life was a constant seeking for Hod experiences, to the great detriment of the the ever-important Netzach of Daily living. Now, I find Balance within Netzach, as well as Balancing Netzach with Hod. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” as the old proverb popularized by Stephen King goes. I don’t mean to go sinister, it’s just so apt!
You are cordially invited to take a moment to find Beauty in the ordinary today.
