The Spinning Rabbi – Heart & Soul

Begin each day by being thankful and grateful. First and foremost be grateful that you woke up.

For that means that you have been given more of the most precious non-renewable resource of all—Time!  You have been given time because you are needed, your life has purpose and meaning, and you matter.

You are given this time to perform a good for one or for many. You are given this time because no one else can perform this specific good except you. It all depends on you.

You are not just matter. It is you that matters.

You are given life for this moment, so that you can give this moment life.

Heart and Soul

*”Oldie But Goodie” updated

*”Oldie But Goodie”

Your specific purpose may become clear to you any moment, or it may take a lifetime.

Yet there is a way to find it. It is traveling your path with purposefulness. It is a path of good. It is a path where we ask ourselves in all that we are about to do, “is this for the good”?  Will this benefit another or others?

As long as the answer is yes then we know that we are headed in the right direction.

A rule for the road

“It is easier to do what is right than to right what is done”. – Rabbi Shraga Silverstein

Heart and Soul

How Do I know My Purpose series

Yes, it’s been some time since I published a post.  “And now I’m back to let you know I can really shake ’em down” (from “Do You Love Me” by the Contours)

During my time off,  I have been touched by the many readers from around the world that have availed themselves of this site by reading old posts.  I call those posts “Oldies But Goodies”.

The most popular post of any ever published here at the Spinning Rabbi* is, “If Iam I because I am I…   (click the title to read it).  Every day, people from all over the world visit the site to read it.

One reader during the time off, having read that post, asked in the comment box, “What if I don’t like who I’ve become? How do I change and become good? “

In responding to her question it hit me that I should share it with all of you

So my here is my response

Firstly, I must remind you as it says on my home page, I’m not a real Rabbi.

It’s great that you’re asking that question. It means that you recognize that you don’t like who you presently are. That recognition is a very positive first step. It means that you know the difference between what’s good and that which is not.

“The entire purpose of our existence is to overcome our negative habits.” – Vilna Gaon

Since you know right from wrong, as the next step, develop a pause button that allows you a moment to always ask yourself if your next words or actions are good or not. That pause moment may seem like a long time at first but with repetition and practice it will become instinctual.

“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” – Leonard Cohen

You recognize that you don’t like who you’ve become because that’s not the true you and that’s what troubles you. The true and real you is embedded in your soul. It knows what is good and what your true purpose and mission is.

There are many posts on this site that will give you some more tips on staying on the path you truly wish to be on.

Thank you for asking me your question!

As I view the many old posts that readers have gone to over the past few months , I will re-post those that speak to the above the most and others, under the heading of “Oldies But Goodies”

You Cannot Lower Your Mountain, But You Can Elevate Yourself

Heart and Soul

People often say to another, “Have a Great Day”.

What makes a great day?  How do you insure that you will have a great day?

Here is a Prescription

First, immediately upon awakening, begin with an acknowledgement of thankfulness and gratitude for being given another day.  That you were given more time, means you are still needed and hence valuable.

Then make your list of the things you need to do to continue to make progress towards your goals and dreams.  The things that will keep you climbing your mountain and getting closer to being the person you are meant to be and can be. 

Make another list of the routine things that you need and wish to get done.

Then start doing

At bedtime, once again state your gratitude for having the day.  Then go over the lists to see what you are able to check off.

If, after the checking off, you are disappointed that you didn’t accomplish as much as you hoped or planned to, don’t let it get you down.  That you didn’t accomplish all that you planned, does not mean it wasn’t a great day.

No matter how much you accomplished or didn’t, the one certain way to have a great day is to give some charity and be of service to another, every day.  If you did that, then it was a great day.

So the secret to having a great day is to make it a great day.  You make it a great day through good deeds and charity!!  You make it a great day by making someone else’s day better.

The next time someone says to you “Have a great day”, respond by saying “I will make it one”.

Have A Great Day!

Heart and Soul

The title of this piece is the overall theme of the Spinning Rabbi.  It has been on this site since the beginning.

Being that this is still the beginning of a New Year and with this being a very tumultuous time, I am putting out this piece again, in the hopes that it helps to keep you focused on you and your part.  To help you keep climbing and getting stronger, healthier, better, and smiling.

Your mountain is the metaphor for your life’s journey.  The climb indicates the challenges and struggles.  Every challenge, test, or struggle may not be what you want. It is what you need or are needed for, at that moment.

Think of “your mountain” as a series of hill and plateaus. Each hill is the struggle, followed by a plateau where you digest the accomplishment of getting to the top of that hill, and prepare for the next hill.

You were born at the base of your mountain and the human you were destined and created to become is waiting for you at the top of your mountain.  At the top of your mountain is not a pot of gold, but a pot for you to deposit all the nuggets of gold, mined from all of your experiences, you collected along the way.

Every step on your climb has a reason. Every person or event is presented to you for a reason. You may not know the reason. You do know, or should come to know, that it is either for the benefit of others, or to further prepare you for your purpose and mission, or both.

You have free will; therefore you have the choice as to how you respond in all situations.  With free will, know that there will be times when you may make the wrong choice and take the wrong turn. Be confident that there will be signs along the way directing you back as long as you look for them.

Adopting this “your mountain” attitude, will assist you in fulfilling your potential in everything you do. If you always strive to reach your fullest potential available to you at every moment, you will be training yourself to do that in all that you do. You will then realize that you can find joy in all that comes your way once you recognize that it is ultimately for the good.

Knowing that the true you, your ultimate potential, awaits you at the top of “Your Mountain”, should inspire you to continue the climb. Accept that every challenge and struggle on the way up is there to strengthen, teach, and prepare you for you.  Accepting that will give you the courage and strength coupled with the excitement to take on all that comes your way. You will learn to relish each challenge as you get stronger and wiser each time you take it on.  Just as an athlete looks forward (not without some degree of fear, hence the adrenaline rush) to the next competition.

The ultimate goal of getting to the top is the goal of discovering you. You will get there by tapping in to the all that’s available to you at every moment in all that you do.  All that you do means just that, in and with everything and everyone that comes your way.  Elevating yourself means constantly tapping into to your other-centric giving you.

This is the pervasive theme of all that you will read on this site.  I invite you to make this your mantra:

“I cannot lower my mountain, but I can always elevate myself.”

Heart and Soul

*this is an updated version

The last post, “Forgive and Keep Going” spoke of what the free-ing of forgiveness can do for our ability to get to where we are meant to go/be.

The question arises, as to whether forgiveness also means forgetting.

There are two parts to forgiving.

One, as pointed out in the last post, is to forgive, so as to free yourself.  To not be anchored or held back by resentment, hurt, revenge,…….  If you allow that to happen to you, you lose!  If you lose, we lose you!

“When you forgive, you in no way change the past — but you sure do change the future.”   —   Bernard Meltzer

 “Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”  —   Lily Tomlin

The second part is forgiving the offending party and therefore forgetting or erasing the event.  To do that would mean to maintain whatever type/level of relationship you had with that person.  That level of forgiving can only come with that person sincerely asking for forgiveness and demonstrating it.  Without that, you are still stuck because the hurtful/harmful event will happen again and again.  With that asking and demonstrating, you can then forget.

Forgetting doesn’t mean to quickly erase.  That event contained a lesson for you to learn and improve from.  When you’re hurt, ask yourself what you can learn from the hurt.  Once you have the lesson ingrained and used for future action, then you can erase.

 “Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.” — Unknown

Think about what you learned or could have learned.

 “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

The most obvious lesson is

If someone hurts you let it serve as a reminder that you shouldn’t do that to another.

 “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” – Hillel

Share some lessons with us by using the comment box

Heart and Soul