Welcome to Loving the Imperfect Podcast, a show for laypeople and seekers of deeper contemplation. I'm Brianne Turczynski. For 10 years, I've been studying offerings from holy teachers and holy texts. I'm a journalist who has listened to the stories of many people throughout the years, and so I thought it was my turn to share a thing or two about my journey and my thoughts on scripture and holy work from different faith traditions and practices, mostly from Sufi teachers, Buddhists, and Christian mystics. So join me as we imperfectly and clumsily make our way through each day, mustering up compassion and some words of love for the hours ahead.
Thank you for joining me again this week. Today's psalm is another psalm from David and it is 13 verses. Here we go.
A reading from Psalm 108 from the New International Version:
My heart, O God, is steadfast;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6 Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered.
7 God has spoken from his sanctuary:
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I toss my sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.
13 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.
Okay. All the cities mentioned in this psalm were enemies of Israel. And I don't know about you, but with the war in Gaza I'm just sort of sick about Israel and I've hated this whole thing from the beginning. In my episode on Celtic spirituality, I mentioned finding a sleeping bird on the sidewalk on my walk one night and the night before I found that bird, my documentary film premiered downtown Detroit at the Better Films Film Festival.
After the screenings of all the local Detroit films, they pulled the directors on stage for a panel, a Q& A. And I said something referring to all our films, that they were trying to communicate peace and reconciliation. I mentioned that one film, in particular, made me think or see that a lot of the conflict we have in the world is the result of an 'us versus them' mentality. And we need to come together to unify and break that barrier. And the director. Of this film, I think was offended by this. She said, yes, you're right. But sometimes an “us versus them” mentality can be helpful.
And I didn't rebuttal this or anything at this point. They wanted us off stage. So, she had the last word of the night from all the directors, and her words just sat there and floated in the air. And I thought about what she said for a long time afterward and her words kept echoing for hours and into the next day.
And I wondered if she was right.
Can having an enemy ever be helpful?
And that question sat and floated in the air around me, and it was around me as I went on a walk the next evening, and this is the damp dewy evening that I found that bird. It sat there perched as if on a nest with its eyes closed. It was a Virginia rail, and it was dead. I took it home and I buried it in my garden.
That day the first bombs fell on Israel, and they were quickly retaliated. I don't know what the sequence of all of this means, the bird died because it couldn't find water. It couldn't find a water source in this city that I live in. And it was tricked by the sidewalk that looked like a stream.
And the children in Palestine are dying because Israel wants to put them in their place and state their power. And they won't let up now.
We are at odds with our families, and our neighbors because somebody on either side isn't listening. Or seeing each other.
So, in human relationships, can it ever be helpful an 'us versus them' mentality? Never. It can only mean death every time. But her attitude, this director, who I love very much. She makes the best films. I love her. But her attitude. Is the attitude of most people because this is our world. This is the world we live in. It is a world of war, and that is all we know. All we know is how to fight and survive but let us go centuries back to a world without enemies.
Has there ever been such a world? Let us imagine a world without enemies, only peace between all people. Imagine this for a moment and feel the hope rise in your chest and the calming of your spirit because this is what we crave and need. And so, we must promote peace everywhere we go. Enemies are a delusion. We are all souls. And to quote Ram Dass, I quoted him last week, I'll quote him this week. To quote Ram Dass: “Souls love souls”.
I am you; you are me. Knowing this truth and incorporating it into your life will eradicate all jealousy, hatred, lust, and your own personal “us versus them” everywhere it shows up.
I'll quote Jesus in Luke chapter 13:34… “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing.”
Remember that we're all one. We're all souls and underneath it all we are really lovely to quote Gwen Stefani.
That's it for my episode this week. Join me next week as we go over Psalm 115. It is by an anonymous psalm writer. I hope that you all have a good week. Thank you so much for joining me again. Bye. Bye.
