One of my pursuits, many years ago, was genealogy. That duty has now been taken over by one of my sisters, who is much better at it than I ever was. She has built a huge family tree, and in it there are a few famous people, including poets and writers But that is the genealogy of DNA. It may be able to tell me for which hereditary diseases I am at risk, even assess the likelihood of my drinking myself to death, as did my umpteenth cousin, Robert Burns, but it does not show my spiritual roots.
So, I've been asking myself who my spiritual ancestors were. It's a tricky question: it's easy to include either too much or too little. For now, I've come up with this list:
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Teresa of Ávila
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
the Baal Shem Tov and his wonderful, magical followers
Lalla of Kashmir
Shlomo Carlebach
There is much to say about any one of these, but it would make this writing too long. It's easier to consider what they have in common. One could say that it is a list of poets and mystics. A mystic believes that direct communication with Divinity is possible; a poet seeks to do it, and to communicate that Divinity to others.
Some common themes are apparent: simplicity of life, the eschewing of materialism, a closeness to and high regard for nature. A belief in the worth of the common man and woman.
Some will, no doubt, question my inclusion of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who was a tragic figure in the latter part of his life. The thing is this: I can judge his actions, but I do not presume to judge the man, who was greater, worthier, than those latter actions. Life, and human nature, are full of powerful forces that can sometimes get the better of us. In the end he was only human, and so am I. He is part of my spiritual roots, and every word that he spoke or sang in my presence is engraved on my heart.
Lalla was also controversial (though for different reasons) in her time, and the misnagdim tried to bring about the downfall of the Baal Shem. Walt Whitman was an iconoclast, and I may use a photo of him in which he was as naked as I usually am to illustrate this blog post. He was also the best poet I can think of, and his poetry grew out of his love for nature.
Thoreau spent time in prison for civil disobedience. Emerson, an enigma to most of the religionists of his time and place, became my guide as a young man, when I began to think for myself.
Saint Teresa, like all mystics, was regarded with suspicion by the Church.
Saint Francis, whom we think of in connection with a simple life of voluntary poverty and closeness to nature, suffered the wrath of clerics who considered his message to be an indictment of their hypocrisy--and so it was.
All in all, I would say that it's a good, challenging, and inspiring pedigree. What's yours?
Walt Whitman, in his natural state.
Text © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
