Love your neighbor as yourself.  We all say it.  Sometimes we live it.  Sometimes, we don’t know how to live it.  One way to begin is to learn about others.

For the past six weeks, I have participated in The Multi-faith Neighbors Network in which local rabbis, evangelical ministers, and imams are put into triads to learn together and to do together.  The latter is a challenge given the Zoom-limitations.  The goal is to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to learn through asking and wrestling with challenging questions and to bring our communities into these relationships.  The six weeks are only the beginning.

On our way from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, we stopped at the Palace of Gold.  This Palace and its compound are nestled in the hills of West Virginia near Moundsville.  It is exquisite, from the gardens to the palace itself.  Per its website: “His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) is widely regarded as the foremost Vedic scholar, translator, and teacher of the modern era. He is especially respected as the world’s most prominent contemporary authority on bhakti-yoga, devotional service to the Supreme Person, Krishna, as taught by the ancient Vedic writings of India. He is also the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.”

Going into the Palace of Gold in ways was uncomfortable but so are some of the conversations in our triad.  However, if I stay home and don’t speak with others, ultimately I am more isolated.  I invite you to journey with me – even if while staying at home – and allow yourself to love your neighbor as yourself.