Orthotely
Orthotely:
Anavah, Wu Wei, and the Dharma of a Messianic Philosopher
By Marc Vidito
I’ve gotten in trouble many times. Oh sure, I used to steal change from my mom’s purse in the 80s to buy comic books. Yes, I definitely got mad and lost my temper, getting me grounded as a kid or dealing with moments of regret as an adult. White lies? Been there! Big mouth? I’ve had it!
But as a Messianic leader, one thing that has been misunderstood and gotten me into some tense conversations is my search for the perfect word to define and encapsulate my core philosophy that drives and is driven by my core theology.
The search has gotten me in trouble because I, in a very non-syncretic way, am not afraid to look for meaning in extra-biblical places.
I think that it is safe to say that most of my introspection, from boyhood til now, has centered around the idea of purpose. Why am I here? What is the purpose of my existence? Am I fulfilling my calling? My purpose?
Am I alone? Do these thoughts keep you up at night as well? Is the search for meaning and significance the driving force to much of your action or inaction? Does making an impact drive your decisions?
It does mine.
A few years ago, many young people were getting a simple tattoo. The tattoo was simply a semicolon.
;
A dot and a dash that mean so much.
Why? Why the semicolon?
One person explained it to me.
“The semicolon represents that I was ready to end my life at one point. But, instead, there was a pause in my story, but not an end. My story continues on because I chose life!”
What a powerful symbol.
;
It got me thinking.
What symbol would define my life?
If I could distill the meaning of my life down to a dot and a dash- what would it be.
I chose this: !
Why? Because, when my time on earth is finished, I hope to have made an impact. To make an indelible mark on history and the people around me.
From boyhood, I have sought to know my purpose. Sinsyne, I have hoped to fulfill my purpose. To leave a [!].
The symbol is clear and expresses its intended meaning.
But purpose? The word is too simple. Too weak. Too over overused.
There must be a word that captures the essence of the answer to my existential questions. To mine and yours.
Around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I, like many of us, had a lot of time on my hands. I built up a vast library of audiobooks and recorded lectures or university classes. Much of what I consumed was courses on philosophy and religion.
As a lifelong learner, I have a voracious hunger for applicable knowledge.
A deep dive into the world’s major religions informed my own theology in two major ways:
All people groups have codified some version of the universal search for God and meaning
Understanding the conclusions to these searches has both given me appreciation for the search of others and has strengthened my Judeo-Christian beliefs.
In effect, hearing how others deal with this search for God and meaning has strengthened the conclusions to which I have come for myself.
This has seen me wrongfully accused of syncretism by some of the more stringent observers of my same core beliefs.
However, syncretism is so far from where I find myself.
I believe that a Creator outside of our spacetime created our spacetime with intention. That He has been expressed within our spacetime in the persons of יהוה, the Father/Creator, Yeshua, the only begotten Son who is also God, and the Ruach HaKodesh, the Breath/Spirit of יהוה.
I believe as Yeshua says in John 14:6 that He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life and is the only path and gate to The Father and eternal life.
This is so basic to my beliefs and I will not expound on them in this paper.
That said, we do not have a monopoly on either the search for God nor the expression of the findings of this search.
Every other faith system seeks to answer the questions that are universal to the human experience.
Their search, while coming to antithetical conclusions, oft times begins in earnest authenticity.
Can no good be found in the search of others?
I believe it can, to the careful scholar.
One such goodness that become a pivotal brick on the pathway to my existential understanding was a word found in Buddhist philosophy.
The word is dharma.
Though it has gone through several changes of meaning since, as legend has it, being encoded by Siddartha Gautama, (though his very existence is contested), one interpretation of the word dharma is, “what I am here to do; the purpose for which I exist”.
I discovered this word in a course on Buddhism during the pandemic and it became the banner under which I operated for several years.
Why? Was I given to the teachings of the Buddha? I did find the ideas interesting. But ultimately, the Buddhist philosophy falls flat in relation to my core beliefs as stated earlier.
But this word… Dharma… it seemed to be the best single word that I had found to that point to describe what I was looking for.
I sought a word that meant more than purpose. It meant more than calling.
It was the DNA that drives every thought, every decision, every action.
It is “what I am here to do; the reason I was conceived” in one simple word.
Eureka!
What a moment, to find this word!
However, as I said at the outset of this essay, it became problematic for many more dogmatic believers and a stain on my public image as a leader in the Messianic Jewish community. A blight.
I was a “syncretic”. Even though I was not.
My search continued.
Early in 2024, I bought a book by a pastor I respected and had done some voiceover work for. The book, which I highly recommend and have given out countless copies of, is “52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know” by Pastor Dave Adamson.
About a third of the way through the book, I learned a word that put my infatuation with the word Dharma to bed!
Certainly, the idea that Dharma expressed is so rich and holds great meaning. But, on page 42 of Adamson’s book, Eureka!!!
He introduced us to the Hebrew word ענוה (anavah;anav).
In English texts, this word is typically translated as “humility”.
But, what do you think of when you hear or read the word humility.
Do we not often think of a lowly person? Does self depreciation not often come to mind?
How many times has a worship leader gotten off the stage and responded to compliments by deflecting praise. By not acknowledging that they did do something… exactly what they were supposed to do. They fulfilled a bit of their dharma. They emptied themselves in order to execute the purpose for the gifts with which they had been imbued.
But ענוה is so much more and so much richer than that!
It can also be interpreted as “occupying one’s intended space and purpose in God’s story”.
What?!?
What?!?
Eureka!!!
That is the word!!
I am living out my anavah when I simply do what I am created to do!!
I wrote messages and teaching on this word!
With Dharma in the back of my mind, this idea of neither proudly nor self-deprecatingly occupying my space in God’s story became my new banner.
And it certainly is!
With the stain of syncretic jargon behind me, I had a message to share that resonated with my Messianic audience.
I began writing a sci-fi allegorical tale centered around this word. Anavah.
But… and yet…however…
As my allegory took shape, anavah, though so very close in meaning to what I sought to express, still was not enough to encapsulate the whole of my philosophical and theological framework.
My theological philosophy had outgrown even anavah.
I sought a word that incorporated the idea of alignment.
You see, my theology, which finds its basis in the John 14:6 claim of Yeshua, is best applied when coupled with this understanding:
The anavah that we each hold, the proper place in God’s story of all spacetime hinges on another idea: alignment.
You see, I believe that not only you and I, but all of creation- all of space and time was created with intentionality. I can enact or live out my anavah when I add another element: alignment. When I, you, creation, the rock, fish, bird, or tree are aligned with our intended purpose, we will correctly occupy our space in God’s story and fulfill what Buddhism calls our dharma.
So is there a word that encapsulates “why I am here”? “What I am here to do”? “My place I God’s story”? Perfect alignment with the Creator’s intention?
Taoism holds another belief. Essentially, to follow the Tao is to find Wu Wei- the flow of nature.
What ever nature is doing, go in that way without forcing opposition.
Sounds simple. But Taoism falls at the assumption its premise makes: that nature and its flow are inherently good.
This would be all well and good if not for an undeniable problematic variable: you and me.
Taoism seems to assume that whatever nature wills is best for nature. But it forgets to take into simple account that we have corrupted nature. Yes, I believe through sin. But, even from a purely naturalistic standpoint, my trash is not the seed of a healthier tomorrow. Nature is infinite degrees off from its intended flow. More so if you believe in a perfect Creator and can see our rebellion against Him.
It is not enough to be simply aligned with the nature of things when all nature is broken.
So then, what word says, “Everything has a Creator-intended purpose, and flourishing comes through right alignment with that purpose”?
Dharma is close.
Anavah is better.
There is a word in philosophy, coined by philosopher Aurel Kolnai in theories of gameplay and leisure, that speaks of playing a game for the enjoyment of said game. The word is orthotely.
Fine and good. A game played for the purpose for which it was intended.
But let us look at the roots for the word in their original Greek.
If we break the word down etymologically, we have the following:
orthos (ὀρθός)
straight, right, correct, proper
telos (τέλος)
end, goal, fulfillment, completion
Proper fulfillment or completion.
Can we use this word, based on the original etymological meaning to say exactly what I have been trying to express my entire life?
Does a combination of orthos+telos describe a person or thing in alignment with its created intent as fulfillment of its purpose?
If I add the qualifier “Theistic” to orthotely, have I finally captured the idea I’ve desired to embody?
Perhaps Dharma, anavah, and Wu Wei were all stepping stones to the label under which I operate and strive to make my impact as a Theistic Orthotelist.
And that is really what I’ve been after, isn’t it? To make that impact. To be in alignment with the intention of my creation. To have an orthotelic existence. To live up to the [!].
I have searched out, throughout metaphysical expressions, the label for that which both drives and defines me.
As an orthotelist, I continue to examine my actions, my decisions, my impact to maintain alignment with my Creator and affect change in the people and world around me. I embody anavah by fulfilling my dharma when maintaining an orthotelic life.
And so, after a lifelong search for a word that encapsulates this idea of purpose, alignment with my intended creation, my Jeremiah 29:11(through 13) acharit or expected end, the fulfillment of that for which I was created, I have found Orthotely.
I am a Theistic Orthotelist!
Eureka!