Northurn lites

Dryving thru
The countrysyde
Past lite pollucian
Green, purpel, pink

Nite owl moruhlzⁱ
The extreem
And its opasit
Ahr both verchuse

Too pockitz
Left: dusty ashez
Rite: holl world
Creeyatid fohr meeⁱⁱ

Naaseh v’nishmaⁱⁱⁱ
Dryving thru
The countrysyde
To find the northurn lites

1. It’s seriously annoying how much more “moral” morning people are propped up to be than us nights owls, at least in our contemporary “hustle” culture. Like fuck you and your 5am olympic lifting sessions already. Some of us (Mediterranean folks) work best from 9 AM – 1 AM. ↩
2. Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa (1765–1827) advised every person to carry two slips of paper, one in each pocket. On one slip, it should read “I am but dust and ashes,” and on the other, “The world was created for me.” By doing so, an individual could reach into one pocket or the other, depending on the need to be humbled or encouraged, illustrating the Kabbalistic emphasis on balancing the two extremes of one’s self-perception. The idea being to navigate the world with a healthy sense of self-worth while also keeping ego in check. ↩
3. To quote the great Rabbi Zohar:

   The Jewish refrain naaseh v’nishma, “we will do and then understand” says the same thing. Understanding will never lead to action, but action can engender understanding. In the case of Job, Jonah, Deuteronomy, and Yom Kippur, the summons is less to understanding, as in endless talk-therapy, than in being able to live another year. Our defense is intellectually modest, but viscerally unassailable. “God, the children are watching you, how do you want them to see you?” In personifying God in this way we also remind ourselves that we are teachers for the next generation. Do we want to be right or do we want to transmit something actionable, uplifting, and enduring?

   ↩