Day One: Dad and the Tree of Life

Hesed shebehesed Day one of the Omer calendar
MY THIRD OMER CALENDARSunday April 8
1)Introduction to an Omer Calendar.
What is it?
So as of the second seder one starts counting the Omer. Long ago in ancient times the first barley sheaf would be cut and offered in gratitude to G-d.The people of old counted 49 days and then offered loaves of bread on the holiday of Shavuot Now the Temple is no longer, the 49 days are counted between the holiday of Passover and Shavuot. The attributes of this Calendar are both earth based and mystical. Those good old Jewish mystics found a way to incorporate the seven divine attributes of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life by combining the attribute each day. Those mystical and emotional attributes combine in a variety of meaningful ways over the next few weeks. Love is the attribute of the first week. As one moves through the days and the weeks one can inwardly meditate on these attriburtes as they find new arrangements and relationships within the Tree of Life.

2) The Earthly aspect.
As for me, I like to pay attention to a wonderful Cedar Tree that grows just outside my back door. To me it is both a beautiful tree and an earthly based Kabbalistic tree of life in the way that it is formed.. It's limbs are an open embrace and it's amazing arms curve upwards like a candelabra. I have painted it many times, used it in two previous calendars, gazed at it at all times of day and night and rushed by it, ignoring it as I went about my busy life.
But in it's quietude it is always there...reaching out to me for a moment of reflection. I have posed questions to this tree and found answers as I looked upward into it's mysterious limbs that arch sky way into a tangle of mystery.

3) My Musings.
What I like about the dailyness of the Omer Calendar is it's ability to hold my daily reflections, observations, emotions and musings. It is a vessel of mystical thought and yet for me is grounded in the actual tree right outside my back door.
My musings often center on what happens each day....and every day I care for my Father who is now 87 years old. He suffers from Dementia,but still quips and quotes like the ardent poet he has always been. Despite the challenges of caregiving and the difficulties of old age there are golden nuggets of wisdom, wit and insight to be had.

4)Other Omer Calendars.
Over the past couple of years I have drawn the Cedar Tree almost daily during this period of the Omer Counting. As I move through this time I will refer back to those other drawings and paintings. The beauty of the container of the Omer is that it allows me to express a range of emotions as I encounter the tree daily and draw it.
For that I am grateful.

5) Today. April 8, 2012 Sunday.
Today I was sitting in the backyard with my Dad nearby. I could see the Cedar tree just beyond my gaze of him. I thought to myself..hey!! get with it!!!..go draw that Tree for your Daily Omer Calendar...and then I looked at him..his tired wise face, his long slender hands and the layers of his shirt and jacket. I drew him and the mystical tree in the background. The attributes for today are Hesed Shehesed. Love within Love. As I care for him in his old age daily, that's just how it is. Each moment is a blessing.
An hour ago I put him down to sleep.He quotes the Boy Scout motto as I handed him his fresh adult diaper to wear for the night..." friendly, courteous, loyal, brave, clean, reverent and honest...maybe not in that order...then he recited his favorite poem. As I turned out the light he said. "All the difficulties just fall into the sea of love." Hesed shebehesed...and so it goes.