What is life?
This is a reflection of a tremendous conversation with my dear friend Dira Berman this afternoon. The Bible says that life is short and full of uncertainties. Life is birth and death, and in between a few pleasures and tremendous suffering. To say death is part of life is simplification of a process that is often mystically constructed and explained. The death can be peaceful and sacred. If death is the inevitable result of the physical ending of every living form in this planet, what could be more to expect than a peaceful and sacred finale that also reflects exactly what she wanted?
Yes, Yan is dead, but out of her passing there should be a sense of gratitude that she had lived a simple, easy, but most importantly, truly peaceful life much of her adulthood, just as she wanted. Even during her illness, her suffering was reduced to minimum with an excellent doctor and great hospital. In light of tremendous suffering experienced by most people in the human history, she was extremely lucky and she knew and appreciated that.
Maybe this sense of gratitude to God's blessing is the start of my healing process. Yes, as Dira says, healing is not to do but to discover--in this case, to discover my inner satisfactions of being a blessed human.
Yes, Yan is dead, but out of her passing there should be a sense of gratitude that she had lived a simple, easy, but most importantly, truly peaceful life much of her adulthood, just as she wanted. Even during her illness, her suffering was reduced to minimum with an excellent doctor and great hospital. In light of tremendous suffering experienced by most people in the human history, she was extremely lucky and she knew and appreciated that.
Maybe this sense of gratitude to God's blessing is the start of my healing process. Yes, as Dira says, healing is not to do but to discover--in this case, to discover my inner satisfactions of being a blessed human.
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Well, having four people and pets close to me die in the past year has made me face my own mortality, at 55. I think I still have many years left. hopefully.
Jews have a firm belief in free-will. The Bible and the scriptures give us guidance about how to live a righteous life, but it is up to us to actually do it. We also have a period of introspection at the New Year, when we review what we have done in the past year, and seek forgiveness from other people and God whom we may have injured or abused in some way, even if small. So it\'s like every year we get a clean slate to try to be the best we can be. Between the New Year and Yom Kippur, we are reminded that God is judging us, like a benevolent but stern father, and on Yom Kippur he writes and seals the fate for all of us in the Book of Life - who will succeed, who will have misfortune, who will live, and who will die. They are called \"The Days of Awe\" and they are very serious.
I do not obey all the commandments in Torah (the Jewish bible) - there are 603 of them in addition to the Big Ten Commandments. Some of them may only be done once in a lifetime. I try to be kind to other people, and also help when I can. I am helping a struggling single mom, a recovering alcoholic friend, and another friend who is trying to get her life back together after being homeless and irresponsible for many years. I also make donations, some small and some not so small, to campaigns and causes, often online. One of them is the Atlantic City Rescue Mission - a Christian mission in a city that is going through terrible economic upheaval, and they provide social services and meals and stuff. Sometimes I get donation envelopes in the mail from them, with a card I can sign. I write on the card that I was homeless with my family for 10 years, now I am ok, and don\'t give up hope that things can get better.
I have a hobby of buying cheap used laptops and refurbishing and donating them. I gave away 6 this year to people who otherwise could not afford one.
Between birth and death, it is our deeds that define who we are and whether we make a positive impact during our short time. You said \"healing is not to do but to discover\" - and discovering your own inner satisfactions is a kind of \"doing\" not for others but for yourself. I always tell people that they cannot be there for their spouse or kids or friends if they do not take care of themselves first.
Thanks, Decibel. These are very insightful.