Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 10 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 20 Elul or 10 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

Return Again

Return again, return again
Return to the land of your Soul
Return again, return again
Return to the land of your Soul

Return to what you are, return to who you are
Return to where you are
Born and reborn again
Return again, return again,
Return to the land of your Soul
Return again, return again
Return to the land of your Soul…

Music: Shlomo Carlebach
Lyrics: Rafael-Simkba Kahn
© Schlomo Carlebach All Rights Reserved

~ ~ ~

The month of Elul inspires me to reflect, to really question have I been honoring myself by living consciously and honestly.  Am I serving the the world I live with integrity and thoughtfulness? Am I nurturing the person I am and striving to reach my full potential?  Am I listening to the silent voice inside of me that has always aspired to make healthy choices for not only my physical world, but for the world that surrounds me regardless of how close or far?  Am I doing the things that jazz my soul?

Everything we do matters? Everything we think can impact our lives and the lives of those around us.  Am I living in a way that exhibits those realities?

During my Elul Journey, I have chosen to take this trek one step further.  I have decided to be more transparent by sharing how I walk through the world with you as well as most of the people that cross my path.  In the recent years, I have grown to like who I am; I want the ‘real me’ to be the person that folks get to know. Today, I am actively returning to my roots and growing stronger roots with each step I take.

Each of us are born with our own essence; may we be blessed to fuel the parts of our being that make us feel the most whole as we strive to grow with each breath.

With blessings & light,
Chava

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 11 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 19 Elul or 11 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“Find beauty and gifts in simple moments, but acknowledge the entire picture too.”
Quote by Me

~ ~ ~

All of us have default responses that show how we walk through the world.  As someone who has been been beaten in a multitude of ways both violently and emotionally, I choose to see the world as beautiful and to celebrate life at every given opportunity.  Life is hard, but amazing moments happen with each passing day.

Reality is what it is and I am choosing to be transparent about what we are currently experiencing.  At the same time, please know that many blessings surround my family.  Yes, times are painfully difficult, but drowning is not an option.  My sons and I have chosen to thrive by diving into the water, swimming as best we can, and sometimes treading so that we can stay afloat.  There is no question, we will make it to shore.

Reality first:

1. On December 16th, my youngest son’s 17th birthday, I was told that my job would go to half-time and that I would lose all benefits unless I could afford COBRA.  I couldn’t, so not only did I lose half of my salary, I lost health insurance and the ability to take care of my nearly adult children or myself.
2. In June, after I had learned to manage on half-salary by supplementing my income, I lost my half-time position.
3. June is too late to find a professional position in my field; now I need to wait until next winter if I choose to stay in my field.
4. I struggle to afford even the most basic needs and sometimes I can’t even afford them.
5. My Temple (as well as many spiritual communities) did not pay into unemployment insurance, so I have no benefits that are often available to those that have lost their jobs.  (Note: If you are a leader or a member of a spiritual community, be part of helping the community navigate good and ethical decision making.  Unemployment should be a given-not a loop hole.)
6. I am a single mother who is barely supporting my sons on whatever I make.
7. My family moved to Tucson and left many of our closest friends for a job that left us stranded.  Jewish professionals do not make enough to easily save the kind of money that would allow us to move back east.

I am sorry that the congregation I worked for is struggling; I am also tremendously sorry that I live in fear of homelessness because of their choices.

Life is hard, really hard. And the good news is that I get to decide how I will walk through this journey.  And during this weekend alone, I found so many awesome gifts:

1. Aryeh found my dog playing with my thumb drive; I thought some important documents had been lost forever.  Now I have some back-ups to do.  Can anyone help me create a cloud that can contain all my computer documents?  Unfortunately I do have some significant limitiations.
2. Loved when my friends shared with me what was good about their week before Shabbat when I asked; Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with so many folks in our lives.
3. The boys and I had a simple salad for Shabbat dinner; we loved just being together.
4. After dinner, Aryeh and I taught Dovi to play backgammon!!! And he actually won one game.
5. Saturday morning, I visited my 98 year old friend and took her to the DeGrazia Museum in the Sun. While it wasn’t a total success, I did get my friend out for awhile.  AND I can’t wait to go back by myself later this week.
6. The DeGrazia Museum is a hidden free treasure for all visiting or living in Tucson; go when you can and be sure to leave a donation.
7. Aryeh and I had an amazing time at our friends house; we swam, ate good food; and laughed a lot!
8. Had an hour conversation with one of my closest friends in Tucson.  (Wow, Tucson really has given me some close friends.)
9. Another friend found me a great High Holiday position in NY, but it ended up not making sense to take it.  But when the offer came in, it brought tears to my eyes and made me feel a little more worthy than I have been feeling.

Continuously Reflection and gratitude:

1. I have had some amazing time to think about my values and what I want to accomplish during the second half of my life.  What do I really want to do? Where do I really want to be? Who do I want in my life? I want a life that includes thoughtful people doing things that jazz their soul; I want to be that person too.
2. A good friend helped me sustain myself by giving me a job; another one helped me find more work when the first job stopped producing enough hours for me.
3. There are many friends that keep calling, sending notes, and believing in me.  They support me when I am feeling good, when I am devastated, and when I am just ok.  My most beautiful friends see me as I am, positive (for the most part) and navigating tough times; they support me by being there and letting me know that they are!
4. Since December, I have been a caregiver to those that are aging, in medical crisis, and/or dying.  Helping each individual and sometimes their families as they navigate some of life’s hardest times has been an amazing experience for me; I believe that I am making people’s lives a little easier when I am their caregiver.
5. When we really needed help, financial help has shown up on three different occasions since December.  Still every month since December has been terrifying.
6. AND last week a dear friend offered me her house in Charlottesville, VA; I am seriously thinking about trying to get there.  I am wondering how to afford getting there and/or the storage costs of that transition.
7. Two friends offered to drive a U-Haul truck cross country so that I wouldn’t have to pay movers.
8. Countless friends have offered me real solutions so that homelessness wouldn’t happen; one challenge to many of the solutions is that we have two dogs that for now we are choosing to keep.  They have already been homeless in their lives; I don’t want them to experience that fate again.  (Besides when our newest pup became a problem this summer, we couldn’t find a home for her. Sigh.)
9. A fabulous congregation in Boulder offered me a position that I’d love to take, but it is half-time.  After the holidays, perhaps I can find another half-time position to compliment the first position.  They have a temp Director of Education there for the next couple of months.

What can you do to help?

1. Visualize we are good and pray for us to find the sustenance that will help us thrive.
2. Give me a job.  I am good with people in all sorts of settings.
3. If you hear of a job that you think would be good for my soul. Let me know.  I am looking for either a career position in Jewish Education or Social Action work AND I am also open to doing a job in a great environment that is a 35-40 hour week job that will allow me the time to write and do Social Action when I am not working.
4. If you are a doctor or dentist living in Tucson and you are willing to be there for our family for lower or no costs, let me know.
5. Keep your eyes open. . . .I am considering asking for concrete help that will allow us to go to the east coast.
6. Light a candle and visualize us spreading light and being full of light.

The good news is that I believe all will be ok.  I am patient and hopeful; the right door is emerging as I type :).  Today’s text response to a local friend that had asked me how I am was –“up & down. . . .but mostly navigating with a positive outlook.”  This is how I walk through life.  I believe that blessings surround me and I pray that all of us will remain healthy (medical emergencies are not an option).  I am actively engaged in living positively as we also play the waiting game for a good job/position that will help sustain my family.

May light surround our family and flow through our family now and always; may that light help make the world a better place.

With blessings & light,
Chava

 

 

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 13 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 17 Elul or 13 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Quote by Dr Seuss

~ ~ ~

When I was in my late teens or early 20’s, I worked as a counselor for the Tikvah Program, a fabulous special needs program at Camp Ramah in Palmer, Massachusetts.  While there, I learned important lessons that continue to impact my life to this day.  The most significant one came from the head of the program who enlightened me by sharing that each and every one of us is unique and also has special needs.

If every one is unique and special, that means I should be cognizant of this reality by consciously honoring each person for who they are.  One of  my biggest goals in life is to make people feel good whenever they connect with me.  I am far from perfect, but I try to interact with others in a very conscious way.

The bottom-line is that every being in this world matters.

I am so tired of living in a society where people show disdain for those those that may have limitations or for those that are the wrong color, size, religion, economic background, etc.  All people are human beings.  Showing someone respect or kindness should be a given unless they have done something very tangible to hurt you.

As a child, I was picked by my own mother and the kids at school because of my own limitations.  I was:

• slow
• hearing impaired
• Jewish
• fat
• from a dysfunctional family
• and more. . .

Eventually I grew up and became more self assured, but growing up sucked in every way.  The good news is that a long the way, I did have friends and family that helped me navigate the harsh realities of being who I was.  And I was able to grow up and become comfortable in my own body.  The point here is that it hurts when people are picked on because. . . .

Since we are all part of the same universe (“no matter how small”), may we all act as if everyone counts.

With blessings & light,

Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 14 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 16 Elul or 14 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

We can change the world and make it a better place.  It is in your hands to make a difference. 
Quote by Nelson Mandela

~ ~ ~

Today is September 11th, a day in which so many of us are remembering pain and feeling the destruction that happened 13 years ago.  While we all remember the pain and destruction, let us also remember how strangers were helping strangers, how people wanted to help, and how we supported those that lost their beloveds.  9/11 was  full of darkness that has lasted, but there were sparks of light that impacted the world too.

Many people did what they could to make a very dark world seem a little brighter.  We can learn from that; we must learn from that.

Let us all use our two hands (metaphorically speaking) to make the world a better place for good.  We may not think we can do much, but we can all do something.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 15 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 15 Elul or 15 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

Holy is the silence; holy is the sound.
~ Quote by Holly Shere

~  ~  ~

Being awkward is not a norm for me.  Connecting with the world around me and being in silence are equally positive states for me.  And yet there exists a gap in this equation.

My struggle stems from finding balance between silence and sound.  In a perfect world, balance should be easy.  Right?!?!? Intense thinkers, however, don’t exist in a perfect paradigm; they think and rethink conversations that most would find mundane.

Holiness comes from both the sound and the silence and all the spaces in between. Life has taught me that words always matter as does the silence between the words.

When words are spoken, we need to do more than just hear them, we need to fully listen so that we absorb what is being spoken.  In order to honor the holiness of the sound, we need be totally present within the different interactions.  On the flip side, we don’t always need to fill in the moments of silence with sound or words.

Silence can also be emotionally liberating.  I often find silence to be precious beyond words.  🙂  Pauses or lulls in conversations can be powerful tools in creating a holy environment. By giving people time to process what is being said.  There is also beauty in the silence that comes when you allow yourself to sit still with your breath.

Breathing Exercise: Try sitting silently in a comfortable position.  Notice how you are feeling and then adjust yourself so that you are more comfortable.  At this point take a deep breath, taking the air all the way down to your belly and even your limbs is you can.  Try to breathe out or exale more slowly than you inhaled.  Once you are comfortable with that do 5 to 10 counts of:

1. Inhaling or breathing in light – Imagine light filling your entire body and radiating out.
2. Exhaling or breathing out darkness – Imagine any discomfort, pain, or sadness leaving you and then. . . 
3. Allow room for the light to enter at the next inhalation.

In my chanting practice, I have learned the power of the words, the melody, the silence, and the breath.  Empowering moments happen when I take the time to fully weave all of these layers into my chanting.

In many ways modern technology and life make honoring the sound and the  silence a little more difficult.  Most of us want instant responses and it is hard to give wait time when you are on the phone.  Try taking a little extra time on the phone to allow for the silence in the midst of all the words – can you have a phone conversation that doesn’t feel quite so rushed? Give it a try and see how it feels to honor the real energy of a conversation.

May we all be blessed to treasure words as much as we treasure the silence.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 16 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 14 Elul or 16 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

The best guide in life is strength. . . . discard everything that weakens you, have nothing to do with it.
~ Quote by Swami Vivekananda

~ ~ ~

The messages keep coming to me, this morning I found the quote above by someone who I quoted days ago.  Looks like I need to start reading the work of Swami Vivekananda.   Yesterday I felt drawn to share the Do As One’s Facebook status line on my status line.

The message is loud and clear.  Surround yourself with people and environments that nurture who you are and then do the work of thriving.

Shemati, I heard.

This is what I call soul work.  Creating a life that honors who you are means you have to make choices.  Who will stay? Who will go? Is this good for you? Can you do the work to make things what you want them to be?

Living consciously means making decisions about who and what fits into your life?  Each and everyone of us is on an evolving journey.  The key word her is evolving; our needs change over time as we have different experiences.

In this moment, I am in the midst of this very journey.  As I actively navigate my own exploration, I am finding it a little daunting to explore all of my feelings, my hopes, my dreams.  With each breath, I am working towards having the integrity I need to thrive and evolve into the healthiest me I can be.

May each of us fill our lives with that which jazzes our soul.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 17 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

 

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 13 Elul or 17 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“You never know when one act, or one word of encouragement can change a life forever.” 
Quote by Zig Ziglar

~ ~ ~

Everything we do matters; everything we say can make a difference.  Whether our actions are with our hands, our hearts, or our words, we have the capability to positively touch the world we live.

In the last 9 months, I have been a caregiver to many different people.  Some have memory loss challenges, some are in their final hours of life, and others have significant physical limitations.  All were once healthy; all are now hurting emotionally and physically.  For each of these people, I have learned that my positive energy really matters.  When I am sad or lost, I need to put those feelings on a shelf and focus on being present and lifting their spirits. This same experience has been obvious when I directed a school.  Children, their families, and other professional staff are conduits for the surrounding energy.

Decide to walk in the world with a love in your heart, gentleness in your spirit, and a desire to impact people for good.  And in the end of the day, do whatever it takes to make that happen.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 20 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 10 Elul or 20 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart…”
Steve Jobs 1955-2011

All of us will die; some of us will die before we hit old age and some of us will live into our senior years.  We don’t know when the end will come.

With that in mind, I am trying to live each and every day to my fullest.  I am actively trying to embrace a life that honors who I am and how I want to be.  Sometimes it feels like a struggle, but more and more I am becoming true to myself and helping my sons to do the same.

One challenge for me is that when I my job went to half-time and then nothing, I lost my health insurance.  For me that leaves a big gaping hole in my heart.  I fear what it means not to have a mammogram or not to be able to get something checked on my skin to make sure it is ok.   I try not to worry about my family, but I know only too well what can happen when your health falls apart.  My hope and my prayer is that all is ok with me and my family now and always.  And I am visualizing that we will have what we need in health insurance as soon as possible.

Life happens; death happens.

For now, it is my job to care for my family in the best ways I can.  That means nurturing my sons and caring for all of our bodies, minds, and souls.  And while I am at it, I will pray and visualize that we will all live a full and healthy life!

What do you need to do in order to best follow your heart?

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 21 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is  9 Elul or 21 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“Writing is a form of prayer.”
Franz Kafka

~~~

With every ounce of my being, I am most centered when I am writing.  Writing is the tool that keeps me grounded in life and allows me the room to be truly present in my body.

As I move through Elul and towards 5775, I know that I must nurture the writer within me.  I need to turn off my inner-filter and trust the flow of my words.

When I was 14 years old, I experienced one of the most devastating moments of my life; my mother tried to stab me with a butcher knife.  To this day, I am not certain how I was able to keep myself safe or how I was able to move forward, but I did both.  While that night was full of darkness, it was that night that I wrote the poem that continues to transform me into the person I am today.

Writing,
the song of my heart;
the meaning of my mind;
the feeling of my soul;
Is what makes me One.

These words have helped me navigate the world and to find ‘peace within the storms’ of life.  Only through writing can I soar as a human being and reach for the best that is in me; writing truly makes my heart sing and jazzes my soul.

What jazzes your soul? What makes you feel the most whole within your body?  May this be the year that allows you the space to nurture that which you love.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging 5775 – 22 More Days

Blogging is what I do.  I love writing and sharing my heart, my mind, and my soul.

Reflection Time Selfie

If this is your first time reading this series of my blog, please take a moment and read the introduction Elul Journey: A New Year Is Emerging – 5775  http://t.co/Y6vmXdO6GJ

Today is 8 Elul or 22 days until 5775; it is a time to reflect and to choose ways in which I can best move towards the High Holy Days and the days that follow.  While it is not easy to navigate life’s journeys, I always get to decide how to approach my life.  In this moment, I am choosing to walk gently and embrace each step with openness.  As I say this, I also realize that this would be a good time for a reality check.

During each blog post of my Elul Journeys, I will share a poem, a saying, a teaching that has helped me navigate the world.  Let me know what you think!

~ ~ ~

“Forget your perfect offering,
and ring the bells that still can ring.
There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.”
~ Leonard Cohen

I am who I am.  I am someone who has lived life with all the gifts and challenges that are part of that journey.  And the best part of being me is that I can find sparks of light within even the darkest moments of living.

Perfection is not possible for me and if I were “perfect”, I believe that too would be imperfect.  As long as we are on journey called life with all of the normal interactions with people and our environment, flaws will remain a part of our existence.

Have you ever noticed that once something breaks it is never the same way once it has been “fixed”?  And yet, that which was once broken can be beautiful and precious; sometimes it is even better than it was before it was “fixed”.

Anyone that has lived fully has been broken at one point or another.

Since January, I have worked as a caregiver for people that are experiencing some harsh realities of life.  Some are simply aging; some have been plagued by health challenges; and others are preparing to die.  Life has a way of throwing punches and wearing people out.  Yet, each and every person I have worked with has been full of beauty.  Their journeys are part of what has made them into the human beings they are.  To be fair, I did not know any of these people previously, but I do see them now — each and every one of them is full of beauty.

Personally, it is great knowing that I always have something to learn.  With each mistake, I grow and evolve to become a better person.  Light really does trickle into each and every crack allowing the light to spread and radiate wherever it reaches.

With blessings & light,
Chava

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