Plagues of the Heart and Mind (Part 9)
By Sara Esther Crispe: January 29, 2014: Category Decoding the Tradition, Inspirations
Swarming Thoughts: Locusts
On its own it looks innocent enough. It is small. Easily crushable. And really pretty harmless. But get it together with its friends and watch out. They swarm. They rapidly breed. They are strong. They fly quickly. And consume everything green in their midsts. These are none other than the destructive locusts that were the 8th Plague.
As previously discussed, the final 3 Plagues represent the attack on the intellect rather than the first seven which relate to the emotions.
So when it comes to the mind, let’s think about the locusts as representing negative thoughts. Each one, in and of itself, is not so problematic. But while one can be dismissed or destroyed, they travel in packs, and when these thoughts work together, they are debilitating. The more we start to worry, the worse things seem and the less likely we are to come up with positive alternatives. Before we know it, they have filled our mind completely, eating away at all they can.
The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt . . . And they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land . . . and there remained no green thing through all the land of Egypt . . .
Pharaoh’s punishment matched his own misconstrued ideas. He had finally offered to release the men from captivity. But he would not allow the women and children to leave. He failed to recognize that one could not exist without the other. There was no Jewish people without their unity. He had hoped if the men were gone then that would suffice. But as long as he chose to keep anyone in his domain, it was as if everyone was in his domain. Pharaoh was told it was all or nothing.
The locusts too are all or nothing. They attack everything they can. But when they are done they are done. Once they have depleted an area, they will search for a new location.
When we find ourselves inundated with thoughts that bring us down and cloud our ability to think, we need to remember that soon they will leave. It is terrifying as it happens, yet the positive in having something wiped out is that it forces us to rebuild— from the bottom up. After all, once we reach the point that nothing in our mind is working or making sense, it leaves us no choice but to come up with new thoughts and alternatives. When the locusts are gone and nothing is seemingly left, we can start over.
To rebuild, the empty space left behind must be filled with positive thinking. And just like the negative ideas swarmed, so too will the positive ones. And as they grow they will gain strength and continue to multiply. And soon enough the mind will be filled with healthy and productive ideas and as the mind fills with light, there will be simply no place left for the darkness.
Plagues of the Heart and Mind (Part 9),
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Thank you for this one especially, although as always, these insights & Spiritual teachings are always practical just as they are deeply meaningful. Yet another reminder of how you & Asher continue to bring what could be the most unique perspectives among /within the hyper-connected worlds we all sift thru, especially when we search for teachings with empathy alongside Jewish knowledge. °°Everyone says keep up the good work, and remember that even tho it’s a cliche, this work makes more than a difference.