Be The Way….Sees You
I recently saw a bumper sticker that said “be the way your dog sees you”. That’s cute and thought-provoking. It brings two thoughts to mind. One of them is obvious and one not so obvious.
A dog sees it’s owner as kind, caring, loving, protecting, and all that with unconditional love. The dog sees it’s owner that way, because that’s the way most people who have dogs are, with their dogs. We are like that with our dogs, but our we like that with other humans? If not, why not?
Let’s look at that bumper sticker in another way. Let’s get a little dyslexic with one word and say “Be the way G-d sees you”. No matter what you currently are, G-d sees you as you can be. G-d sees you the way he created you and why you were created.
If you are reading this than you are still here, meaning you are alive and still on this planet. That means G-d stills has faith that you can and will accomplish that which you were created for. More than that, it means you are still needed to accomplish your unique purpose and mission. Be the way G-d sees you and you will find more than happiness. You will find joy.
Heart and Soul
The title of this piece is the overall theme of the Spinning Rabbi. It has been on the site since the beginning. I think it’s time to reprint it as a reminder for all of us. It helps put our climb/journey in an empowering perspective.
Your mountain is the metaphor for your life’s journey. The climb indicates the challenges and struggles.
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. Think of the journey in that way.
On your journey, every step 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. Every challenge, test, or struggle may not be what you want. It is what you need or are needed for, at that moment.
You have free will; therefore you have the choice as to how you respond in all situations, whether it be in inter-personal relationships, athletics, career, etc. 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 train 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. It’s there to prepare you for the next struggle. 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.
Think of “your mountain” as a series of hill and plateaus. Each hill is the struggle, followed by a plateau where you can digest the accomplishment and prepare for the next hill.
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 prevailing theme of all that you see on this site. This can become your mantra,
“I cannot lower my mountain, but I can always elevate myself.”
Heart and Soul
Alice Herz-Sommer In Memoriam
The world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, died Sunday 2/23/14 at the age of 110 in London. Herz-Sommer was the subject of a documentary “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”, nominated for an Oscar this year.
On 3/21/13, I wrote about her and how her attitude is truly an inspiration to us all. Below is a reprint of what was written then
On our journey, our mountain climb, we must often climb through the darkness in order to get to the light. No one else has the same journey and while others may help, no one else can get through the darkness for you. Sometimes we can draw inspiration to prepare and help us by knowing the stories of others. Alice Herz-Sommer’s story is one of those. She is the oldest living Holocaust survivor (in the video below she is 109 yrs. old). Her optimism, like that of so many Holocaust survivors, who lived through such unimaginable darkness and evil is a valuable lesson for us all. Who better to teach us
“I know about the bad things, but I look to the good things.” – Alice Herz-Sommer
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Dr. Viktor Frankl*
*from his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” about his personal experiences and his observation of others interned with him at Auschwitz. If you haven’t read this book, do, it is a valuable reminder
Heart and Soul
Valentine’s Schmalentines!
Valentine’s Schmalentines! Do we need a special day, or just one day to celebrate how valuable love is? Those that have it, know how valuable it is and should celebrate it everyday. Those that don’t have it yet, still know how wonderful and valuable it is, making the search matter so much. At one time or another, everyone was a searcher, so once found cherish it. After all, “Love makes the world go ’round” from the musical “Carnival”. It does everyday.
Here are some beautiful quotes on love for those that have it and the searchers
“Love is a game that two can play and both win.” – Eva Gabor
“To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.” – Alphonse de Lamartine
“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.” – Katherine Hepburn
“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” – Sam Keen
“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” – Morrie Schwartz
“Love has no age, no limit; and no death.” – John Galsworthy
“I can live without money, but I cannot live without love.” – Judy Garland
“The degree of loving is measured by the degree of giving.” – Edwin Lewis Cole
“If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.” – Michel de Montaigne
“Any love that is dependent on something — when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on any thing never ceases…” – Ethics of the Fathers, 5:16
Click on the titles below to read some previously published thoughts and quotes on having, keeping, and finding love
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
“Love, Love, Love – All You Need Is Love”, The Beatles
“Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places”
Heart and Soul
A Don’t Do That Elevates
We climb our mountain by elevating ourselves and/or vice versa. We elevate ourselves by the good that we do and by that which keeps us climbing. We elevate when we connect with others through acts of kindness and charity. We also elevate ourselves by doing things that keep us from being paralyzed in one spot, as in “Go Forward”.
Less discussed is that we also elevate ourselves when we don’t do some things. When we refrain or restrain ourselves from doing something that halts our progress, or is hurtful to another, we are actually elevating ourselves. Something intentionally hurtful to another, is by definition also hurtful to ourselves and our unique purpose. It is hurtful to our and others progress.
Here is one of those Don’ts
Idle Gossip
For each of us and in our culture today, idle gossip is all too common. It is corrosive to all relationships and our culture. Idle gossip is not so idle, it travels.
Testing for gossip
Socrates had what he called the “Triple Filter Test” for gossip.
The first filter is Truth. – Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell someone about someone is true?
The second filter is Goodness – Is what you are about to tell someone about someone something Good?
The third filter is Usefulness. – Is what you are about to tell someone about someone useful to that someone?
If what you are about to say does not pass through all three filters – don’t say it! The stronger the temptation, the stronger you become by resisting. By resisting you are growing and improving.
The original basis for this test probably comes from the Jewish teachings against Lashon Hara, or the evil tongue.
“You shall not go around as a gossipmonger” — Leviticus
“Evil gossip kills three: the one who says it, the one who listens, and the subject of the gossip”. — Talmud
“What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t invent with your mouth”. – Yiddish proverb
Heart and Soul
Being Connected
What we all yearn for is being connected to another and others. We were not created to be alone. We were created to be an A but not Alone. That’s why Eve was split off from Adam. We connect by plugging into others, rather than waiting for them to plug into us. We are both a plug and an outlet from which we create and receive the charge. When we connect we are fully charged, and all of our power is available to us and all others. This is always important to remember, but even more so whenever we know someone who is ailing, either physically or emotionally.
We want to know, consciously or otherwise that we matter. We are not just matter but rather each one of us matters. We matter by doing. We matter and connect by doing for another, and/or others, and/or for something bigger than just ourselves. This is a key ingredient in the recipe of what can make you truly happy. Happiness can be found through secure connections.
Lost your connection?
First check to see if all of your connections are securely plugged in. Check your connection with the one above and your connections all around you. You may need to restore your original settings and do a re-start.
Here are some reminders to help you stay connected
“Ubuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu” which is Zulu for “A person is only a person through other persons.”
“We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” – Lucretius
“The man who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the one who thinks others can’t live without him is even more deluded.” — Chassidic saying
Heart and Soul
The Spinning Rabbi - Heart & Soul 