“What I Felt From Above”
The story in this video moved me so much, that I must post it here and share it with you.
It is a beautiful, touching, and inspiring story of a true miracle, of faith, and true love of another human even if a stranger. A true example of “Love thy fellow as yourself”. It touches on and in so many ways summarizes so much of the overall message of this site.
“I saved your body, but you saved my soul”
Muawia Kabha an Israeli Arab medic volunteer with United Hatzalah
Be Good Do Good Think Good
Happy Days Of Independence 2019
On this Fourth of July 2019, we will have been blessed with and enjoyed 243 years or 88,753 days of independence since the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. It said;
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
The founding of America was a novel idea in building a nation based on individual rights and freedom. Without these rights and freedom we could not pursue our dreams and our individual purpose. Something to be eternally grateful for!
We were created with Free Will. The USA was created to be a land that gave us the opportunity to express our Free Will. With the freedom of Free Will, we can choose to elevate ourselves and become the person we were created to be. A person who follows “Love your fellow as yourself” (Leviticus 19;18). When we use that freedom to be who we are meant to be, to fulfill our unique purpose, America will be all that it’s meant to be and what it was created for.
To have that freedom to pursue and become our true selves is indeed something to be thankful for. That liberty should be celebrated everyday by using it for the good.
May we cherish, be grateful for, and protect those freedoms for many, many more days and years.
May we use our freedom to fulfill our greatest human potential.
Watch this video of the amazing rendition of the National Anthem by this beautiful seven year old girl
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
G-d Bless America
“Oh! My Papa”*
Happy Fathers Day
On this Fathers Day, I wish to honor my Father (obm) and re-post this piece I put out once before
Sam Fox, My Father, A Holocaust Survivor
1924 – 2015
I wish to share with you some of the many lessons I was privileged to learn from my Father. May these lessons inspire you as much as they have inspired me.
When asked by my Brother, “What is the secret to a successful and happy life?”, despite having experienced the Holocaust, in which he lost his parents and five siblings….despite then sitting in a wheelchair because of a paralyzing stroke….. despite that his wife, my Mother, was dying in the other room…..He said
“In life some people have it easy and make it hard and some people have it hard and make it easy”
The value of charity
“When I first came to America I had nothing, yet I always gave to charity. When I did, it always made me feel rich.” – from an acceptance speech upon receiving an award
The value of the pursuit of good
“The pursuit of the good is the noblest of character builders and one of the sources of true gratification”. There are other things in life besides self-interest. Personal involvement in others challenges, in community affairs are the greatest sources of personal achievement and success. Too many people refuse to understand what it means to be involved and to help others. They are truly missing something. There is nothing as gratifying and self-fulfilling as helping others. Why don’t you try it? If you do, I can assure you that you will arrive at a similar conclusion. Try it, you will like it”. – from another acceptance speech upon receiving an award
These were just some of his words. The valuable lessons learned by all who had the privilege of knowing him, came from watching him turn those words into deeds.
*Listen to Eddie Fisher’s beautiful song
Be Good Do Good Think Good
Diamonds Everywhere
In a previous post, “How Valuable Are You?“, the final line from the Grandfather, was a powerful summary. It said, “May you value the diamond in yourself and recognize the diamond in others as well.”
To “see the diamond in others” starts with believing that you are a diamond. Then believing that just like you, we all are. We are all unique, original, and the only one of a kind in this universe.
Just as it might be difficult to see the diamond in ourselves, it’s even more difficult to see it in others. To see it in others requires being open to seeing things from their perspective, not yours. As the expression goes “walk a mile in their shoes”. It may be difficult to see from their perspective, since we haven’t or can’t walk in their shoes, so we must be open to the idea that their is one. To be open is to be empathetic. It means having a listening heart.
“We don’t always see things as they are, we see things as we are” – Anais Nin
We are all diamonds. Some start out more polished than others and some less so. To reach the top of our mountain requires continually polishing and refining. In recognizing that there is another perspective, theirs, will lead us to help them see their diamond and inspire them to polish theirs.
“Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles.” – Thomas Browne
When the Lubavitcher Rebbe was asked how he could stand for hours receiving thousands waiting in line, he smiled gently and said,
“When you are counting diamonds, you don’t get tired.”
Watch this video for a good understanding of Empathy from Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski a Rabbi, Psychiatrist, founder of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center
On This Memorial Day
As we exercise our freedoms, without which we couldn’t enjoy the activities of this day, without which you couldn’t be you, let us take a moment to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to attain and preserve our precious gift of freedom. In cherishing their memory, we remember to cherish our freedom.
The fallen understood this:
“Liberty is one of the most precious gifts heaven has bestowed upon man. No treasures the earth contains or the sea conceals can be compared to it. For liberty one can rightfully risk one’s life”. —Don Quixote
“When you know what you are willing to die for, then you will know what to live for”. — Jewish saying
Certainly something to be grateful for
Be Good Do Good Think Good
