Shabbat (21"X21")

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Shabbat (21"X21")

$210.00

The title of this piece is “Shabbat”, which means “ceasing” in Hebrew.

From my perspective, ceasing is the ultimate goal of our existence as human beings: to cease our relentless striving, to rest in the mystery of God, and to shift our relationship with time. 

Ceasing is the most wonderful invitation, yet we resist it like a kid resists eating brussels sprouts!

Why so?

Because we THINK it might actually hurt us. It might actually taste bad. We think we might lose something we are really striving hard to gain.

We are so focused on gain.

Christ says that “in order to find your life, you must lose it.” Sabbath, or ceasing, is a way to find your life by losing it.

So join me, won’t you? Let’s learn to cease together! Plunge together with me into the mystery of no-thingness, of ceasing, of losing our identity in ourselves and in our efforts, of trading our stiff ideas of life for something far more expansive and beautiful and refreshing!

Isaiah 58 says, “When you call ceasing (sabbath) a delight...good things will happen!” Hmmm. Sounds tricky. Do I call dying to myself and all that I have known delightful? Not really. I find delight in making things happen, in being seen, in making a difference, in effort and hard work...not in ceasing. 

This, says God, is why your soul is not at rest. You delight in the things that are unsustainable. You delight in making much of yourself. You delight in calling yourself busy. But inside you are not well and all of this work will eventually fade away. You are oppressing yourself and others by this violent way of existing; always moving, always consuming, always labeling and categorizing, always resisting, always controlling, never ceasing. What will you be left with in the end? You will have no real foundation to stand on. 

Your true foundation is in not knowing, in not striving, in not controlling.

Ceasing, as much as it may surprise us, is our foundation. Not having an image of ourselves or others is what God is calling us to. Living a life of radical inclusivity, radical acceptance, radical generosity, radical presence...THIS is what we are called to. 

On a practical note, when I talk about true ceasing I am not necessarily talking about physical stillness, although that is a healthy and necessary part of ceasing, even a foundational aspect of it. What I am talking about is an internal spaciousness, a letting go of images we hold of ourselves and others, a ceasing to perpetuate duality and “right/wrong” thinking. It is a ceasing from consuming knowledge or wealth or status or acceptance from the world. It is a ceasing from the struggle we find ourselves in within our own minds. It is a ceasing from hierarchical living, or “more than” or “less than” thinking. 

This way of ceasing leads to, or rather accesses, a vibrant aliveness within us. It is where our true riches lie. It allows the “wellspring of life” that is within our hearts to bubble up and overflow! It allows the light to emanate outward from us and fill us with insight and delight and peace! 

In my own experience, when I truly enter into presence and deep rest, it is nothing like the modern day idea of ceasing or rest, which depends on external circumstances like vacationing. It is a way of ceasing that is an internal posture and is not dependent on circumstance. An intentional day set aside for ceasing is an excellent way to practice ceasing, and one I highly suggest. It will inform the rest of your days and be a birthplace for your ceasing practice to establish roots!

My present Sabbath practice is based on Isaiah 58. Here God says, in essence, “Hey, people! You are resting on the outside, but you are still oppressing yourself and others! Sabbath isn’t about sitting around and doing nothing! It is about seeing where you are stuck and where you are keeping other people stuck and then undoing those habits so that you can be truly free. When you do this hard internal work...good things will happen! Far greater things than you could accomplish by controlling or manipulating your life!” (Isaiah 58, paraphrased)

As I see it, Sabbath might actually be the most intentional “work” day of the week, because it involves untying all of the knots that we have tied ourselves and others up in during the previous week (or months, or years). It is a day of forgiveness, of surrender, of seeing what needs to shift. The rest of the week, in my opinion, is working out that vision via action, by actively “untying, setting free, and breaking” all of the chains we have placed on ourselves and others. 

Ultimately, ceasing informs our relationship with time. When we cease, we make a radical shift toward trust and away from fear. We shift from a perspective of lack to a perspective of abundance, of “not enough” to “ample”, from the ability of the self to the provision of God.

Painting notes:

This piece highlights the act of returning to the Center of our existence. Specifically, this piece is about how Sabbath transforms our relationship with time. In the Hebrew worldview, time is not linear. Rather, it spirals in and out of a center, always returning to the core, to God. It is very different from our western perspective of linear time, which stretches outward and has no center.

Think of ceasing, or Sabbath, within the core of this image of time. With this practice of time one keeps returning to the service of no-time, to ceasing, to losing your life in order to find it. Time is no longer a master to the human, but a partner in the flowering of humanity. The image is a beautiful, spiraling flower, created by a movement (here represented by the black line) that has no beginning and no end. 

Around the edge of the painting is a cosmic border. This represents the cosmic scope of the invitation to “Shabbat”, or cease.

“When you call the sabbath a delight...then all sorts of good things will happen!” (Isaiah 58, paraphrased)

India ink and wonder on Arches 300lb cotton rag watercolor paper

21”X21”

(A delivery and shipping note: This painting is available for direct delivery/pick-up in the Holland/Hudsonville, Michigan area. Can also be shipped domestically or to certain countries. Shipping will be charged separately, and will be at cost of packaging and shipping materials used. Details will be arranged via email for shipping.)

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