(17/40)

77% Weekly Newsletter
ROTB logo


The 77% Weekly
The Religion-Outside-The-Box Newsletter

In This Issue
Upstream and Downstream
ROTB Links

NEW PODCAST
MUSIC

Rabbi Brian’s podcast has a new groove!

Jason Crigler (a favorite instrumentalist of Norah Jones) has recorded new tracks for the ROTB podcast.


Listen to Rabbi Brian talk about Non-Existence.

Account Info

Edit

Ask R.Abbi

Do you have a spiritual-religious question?

If you have a question that you would like R.Abbi to answer, please e-mail: R.Abbi@rotb.org

 

 

Latest
Article

ROTB.org

ROTB

Religion-
Outside-
The-Box

can now also be accessed at

www.oldrotb.wpengine.com

Sign-up!

Join Our Mailing List

# 17 / 40 – June 2007

This one is really
worth reading! -Rabbi Brian

Upstream and Downstream
 

Upstream and Downstream

A religious parable.

There once was a town called Downstream. It was, as its name implies, downstream from another town. It was downstream from a town called Upstream.

A mighty river connected Upstream and Downstream.

One sunny day, a resident of Downstream saw a person in the river, drowning.

The Downstreamer called to a neighbor to come quick and together they fished a very wet Upstreamer out of the river.

About a month later, a few Downstreamers happened to be on the bridge when they saw another erstwhile Upstreamer in the river, drowning. They jumped in and managed to save that soul.

And so it continued.

About once a month a person from Upstream would be found in and saved from the river by the residents of Downstream.

For years, this happened with some regularity.

Then, the frequency increased. Twice a month there were Upstreamers in the river needing help.

The people of Downstream organized. They systematized and patrolled the river with a special boat. They saved more and more people.

Soon, it began occur every week.

Once a week there was a drowning Upstreamer in the river who needed rescuing.

A medical facility on the edge of the riverbank was built to accommodate the recovering Upstreamers.

Before long, there was someone drowning in the river every day.

The good people of Downstream added a second rescue boat so they could save more and more of the downing Upstreamers.

The people of Downstream never wondered, “What was happening in the town of Upstream?”


An interpretation.

We often apply band-aids to our wounds instead of learning about and addressing the cause of our maladies.

With love,



Rabbi Brian

And, if you care to, click here to see comments on the streetprophets site where this article went up last week.

The 77% Weekly


The 77% Weekly: The Religion-Outside-The-Box Newsletter
helps people find and be with (the) God (of their understanding) 40 out of 52 weeks a year.

Why 77%? Two reasons: 1) 40/52 = 0.76923 and 2) in school 77% was a passing grade and ROTB wants to remind you that life isn’t graded, it’s pass/fail.


Religion-Outside-The-Box is a non-denominational, donation-supported, internet-based, 501c3-tax exempt religious congregation.

Five More Wisdom Biscuits

  1. I know garbage “You should put the garbage bins back where they were before you remodelled,” I tell the managers of the Grant High School construction project when they host a neighborhood forum. “Funny thing, that,” the lady in charge says, “It’s a bit counterintuitive.” She explains something city planners learned about beaches. “If there is a garbage

Read More »

Light-Lifting

✧✧✧ Introduction ✧✧✧   A long-form follow up to May’s 14/40 Five Wisdom Biscuits about smiling.   ✧✧✧ Outline ✧✧✧ A Story Deep Shit About Smiles The Joke My New Workout Plan ✧✧✧ A Story ✧✧✧   I exercise religiously—by which I mean I’m very compassionate and affirming. Today, I didn’t challenge myself to attempt an eight-rep back squat 5–8

Read More »

A Big Ask

Beloved, What I’m about to ask is a very big ask. You (probably) aren’t going to want to do it. But I’m still going to ask. Because it’s important. Very important. Stop hating.   ✧✧✧   “No one is born hating another person… People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to

Read More »
77% Weekly Newsletter
77% Weekly Newsletter