Humanity as a Spiritual Path
17 Feb '20 19:26Yesterday, I attended a brilliant performance of the opera, Tosca, during which I had a re-awakening that touched the depth of my spiritual beingness. The source of this stirring was a simple gesture from a supporting performer. To explain, allow me to set the stage.
Tosca is nothing short of “high opera”. It is musically complex, characters and storyline are intentionally dramatized in a manner which often repels average audiences away from opera, in general. The story is culminates to a scene leading to the execution of an innocent man whose final request is to be able to write a letter to the woman he loves. He makes his request to the prison warden, offering his last possession, a gold ring in exchange for paper and quill and a moment in which to write the letter. After the letter is written and handed to the warden, the accused takes his ring and offers it in payment. At this offering, the warden raises his hand in refusal. Here is the gesture that reawakened that place in my spirit.
The character of Tosca is portrayed as one who has done many great things in the service of those in need. The character of her lover, Cavaradossi is portrayed as one who offers his life for the greater good of his fellow men. There are other characters who do righteous activities and others who perform treachery, and yet it is the simple gesture of humanity from the character mere prison warden that stirred me.
There are examples of simple humanity in every day and personal narratives, in spiritual texts, and throughout history. Sometimes they are portrayed in glorious ways and sometimes fictionalized. I felt the power of the simple gesture in the film portrayal of Ben Hur as Jesus offer a drink to Judah Ben Hur as a prisoner. I thought about the notion that the real person of Oskar Schindler was not even characterized with philanthropic intentions in the film Schindler’s List, and yet his decency in a few hundred instances amongst the backdrop of millions of deaths during the Holocaust has garnered the distinction by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
To be clear, this is not an argument for or against methods of salvation or commentary on belief for or against divine intervention. It does bring me personally to a spiritual realization that has meaning and allows me to continue my life as a “spiritual being having a human experience” one moment at a time.
Tosca is nothing short of “high opera”. It is musically complex, characters and storyline are intentionally dramatized in a manner which often repels average audiences away from opera, in general. The story is culminates to a scene leading to the execution of an innocent man whose final request is to be able to write a letter to the woman he loves. He makes his request to the prison warden, offering his last possession, a gold ring in exchange for paper and quill and a moment in which to write the letter. After the letter is written and handed to the warden, the accused takes his ring and offers it in payment. At this offering, the warden raises his hand in refusal. Here is the gesture that reawakened that place in my spirit.
The character of Tosca is portrayed as one who has done many great things in the service of those in need. The character of her lover, Cavaradossi is portrayed as one who offers his life for the greater good of his fellow men. There are other characters who do righteous activities and others who perform treachery, and yet it is the simple gesture of humanity from the character mere prison warden that stirred me.
There are examples of simple humanity in every day and personal narratives, in spiritual texts, and throughout history. Sometimes they are portrayed in glorious ways and sometimes fictionalized. I felt the power of the simple gesture in the film portrayal of Ben Hur as Jesus offer a drink to Judah Ben Hur as a prisoner. I thought about the notion that the real person of Oskar Schindler was not even characterized with philanthropic intentions in the film Schindler’s List, and yet his decency in a few hundred instances amongst the backdrop of millions of deaths during the Holocaust has garnered the distinction by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
To be clear, this is not an argument for or against methods of salvation or commentary on belief for or against divine intervention. It does bring me personally to a spiritual realization that has meaning and allows me to continue my life as a “spiritual being having a human experience” one moment at a time.
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