Stephen Mitchell, in his wonderful little book, "The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry" (Harper & Row, 1989), translates Psalm 1 as follows:
Blessed are the man and the woman
who have grown beyond their greed
and have put an end to their hatred
and no longer nourish illusions.
But they delight in the way things are
and keep their hearts open, day and night.
They are like trees planted near flowing rivers,
which bear fruit when they are ready.
Their leaves will not fall or wither.
Everything they do will succeed.
As we move into the second decade of the new millennium I think this ancient song from the Hebrew Scriptures might be an excellent inspiration for a New Year’s resolution.
If we hope for happiness, a deep happiness that is truly a blessing, the wisdom presented in Psalm 1 may inspire us to a new way of life in the coming year.
Perhaps in the unfolding of time we might begin to grow beyond our greed. Greed, it seems to me, arises in our hearts and souls when we are afraid. We are afraid that we won’t have enough. We are afraid that others will have more than do we. We are afraid that without more we will be viewed as less worthy by others, and by our selves. Out of our fears we become greedy.
Our greed has not calmed our fears. In fact, it has made our world even more fearful. The greed of the banks, the greed of Wall Street, the greed of the realtors, and the homebuyers who desired more home than they could afford, has made our world more dangerous, and fearful, than before.
Fear can only be overcome by becoming secure in who we are rather than in what we have. If we are to grow beyond our greed, we must begin to grow into men and women of integrity. Those who are whole are well, even in the face of danger; and then, as it has been wisely said, “there is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
With growing integrity we begin to grow beyond our greed.
Hatred! It seems to be all around us and, if we are honest with ourselves, arises from within our own hearts. Hatred is the extreme, and pathological expression of a distrust of others, especially others who are different than we. It is perhaps an evolutionary by-product of a survival instinct. Do not trust those whom you don’t know for they may desire to do you harm.
The healthy response to this survival mechanism is to get to know the other and to build bonds of trust so we might seek out mutual benefit for each of our needs so we might better survive thrive.
Too often, though, we choose to simply mistrust and not take the necessary step to become familiar with the other. Out of mistrust we begin to wish that the other were not an element with whom we must deal, and we begin to wish they didn’t exist. Hatred arises. We hate the other race. We hate the other ethnic group. We hate others with differing political, religious, or sexual persuasions. We begin to live gated lives in gated communities with gated attitudes. We remove ourselves from the others we do not trust, and when we find ourselves in contact with them, we hate them even more.
What a better world we would live in, and which we would leave to our children, if we would begin to build relationships of trust with others rather than allowing mistrust to push us into hatred.
What are the illusions under which we live that distort our lives?
On a recent driving trip to Texas, I saw a personalized license plate in Oklahoma: OVRTAXD. I wondered if the driver understood taxes created the interstate highway on which his car was riding. It is an illusion that suggests nearly all taxes are bad and without taxes our nation and economy would prosper.
Too often, as I observe the political, religious and economic debates the arguments are based in our illusions, rather than in the facts. We have become a people who believe our opinions are true, and we refuse to allow the facts to dissuade us. A society that makes important decisions based in our illusions is one that will not stand the test of time.
The solution to these problems of greed, hatred and illusion is, as the psalmist suggests, to “delight in the way things are.” By this, I understand the author to mean we ought to find joy in the present time in which we find ourselves. To find joy and be mindful the time we are in is the only time we really have, is the birthing time for what is to be.
So our hearts – and minds - when we are fully present in the now, become open to what is truly possible. Greed, and the fear that brings it about, can dissipate. Hatred can be transformed into the building up of trust. Our illusions can be seen for what they are, figments of our wishful imaginations.
Then we will be like trees growing beside the flowing waters, alive and fruitful and blooming into the future that unfolds from the present. Everything we do, growing beside the living waters, will be alive and well.
I want to keep Psalm 1 in my mind and heart this coming year. It is as good a new year's resolution as any I have ever had.
Happy New Year.
