With his music he could literally move one’s soul to reach for G-d Almighty in the Heavens and on Earth.
Thank you Eitan Katz for bringing this alive again.
I hope you can feel it as I do.
Hashem lives!
Great song: David and Shaul from Ehud Banay’s third album, ”The Third/Hashlishi”
The song is about the “bipolar” feelings of King Saul toward David (then the next king of Israel).
Here are the lyrics:
כולם מזמן הלכו לישון
רק שאול ער, קודר
מרים לדוד טלפון
A late-night hour
Everyone is long gone to sleep
Only Shaul is awake, cheerless
He calls David up over the phone
אולי תקפוץ אלי, יא דוד
נפשי אגם שחור
תביא איתך את הגיטרה
כי באצבעותיך אור
Maybe you should stop by, Ya David
My soul is a black lake
Bring the guitar with you
For you have light in your fingers
דוד בא מיד רגוע,
מתיישב ומכוון
את המלאכה היטב יודע
עוצם עיניים, מנגן
David comes right away and he is calm
Sit down and tunes (the guitar)
The job he well knows
Closes his eyes, he plays
עשר אצבעות לדוד
קצה כל אצבע – קרן אור
כשהוא פורט על המיתר
הזמן זורם לו לאחור
Ten fingers David has
The tip of each one – a ray of light
When he port on the string
The time is flowing backwards
שאול מבפנים קרוע
קרבות בתוך בטנו
אוהב-שונא, ומקנא
מכור לחברו
Shaul is torn inside
Battles in his stomach he has
Love-hate, and jealous he is
Addicted to his friend
דבר מה אפל נופל
השד חוזר להשתולל
סכין נזרקת באוויר
פתאום יש בין השנים קיר
Something dark falls
The demon is back to a rage
A knife is thrown in the air
Suddenly there is a wall between the two
דוד מתחמק משאול
אבל שאול לא מוותר
דוד שוכח וסולח
כששאול מתקשר
David is avoiding Shaul
But Shaul is not giving up
David forget and forgives
When Shaul call up
בוא שוב לנגן לי דוד
קח אותי לכוכבים
בוא שוב לנגן הלילה
שיר געגועים
Come again to play to me David
Take me to the stars
Come again to play tonight
A song of longing
בוא שוב לנגן הלילה…
Come again and play tonight..
בוא שוב לנגן הלילה
שיר געגועים…
Come again and play tonight..
A song of longing..
(Kudos to my Ulpan teacher, Rivka D. for sending me the video and to Izchak, my wonderful son-in-law, for providing the Hebrew/English lyrics)
I really like this Pyramid of Emotional Intelligence (EI).
It starts at the bottom with your own personal self-awareness–knowing who you are, including your beliefs, values, priorities, needs, and dreams, and being able to express this.
Next level is your personal self-control–being able to manage your feelings, control your actions, and cope with challenges and adversity.
Moving to the social level is then social awareness–having a consciousness and respect of others, their feelings, thoughts, motivations, needs, desires, and rights.
Finally, at the top is relationship management–the ability to actively listen and empathize, assert and influence, be patience and unconditionally accept differences, develop trust, give and take, collaborate, and manage conflict.
Most people work on developing these areas of the EI their whole life, and it is definitely a pyramid worthy of the climb. 😉
(Credit Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
This is a useful 4-part communications process (developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg):
1. Observations: Tell the other person the behavior you observe from them that is making you uncomfortable.
When I Observe…
2. Feelings: Explain how the person’s behavior makes you feel (happy, sad, angry, annoyed, excited, worried, scared, hurt, embarrassed, confused)
I feel…
3. Needs: Describe what you need from the other person (physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualization)
Because I need…
4. Requests: Ask them specifically what you’d like them to do.
Would you be willing to…
It’s a way to make your feelings and needs known and ask nicely what you’d like from others.
This provides a mechanism to give feedback and work with other people without being confrontational, threatening, dictatorial, or nasty.
When I see you reading my blog, I feel happy, because I need to try to be a good person and good influence in this world. Would you be willing to share my blog with others? 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal and Colleague from Work)
I liked this painting and the caption:
Innerspace
There is outer space.
And there is innerspace.
Outer space is the universe, the cosmos, the galaxies, the solar systems, the stars, and the planets–it’s the big picture of what is all around us.
Innerspace is the our soul, conscience, thoughts, feelings, who we are, and what we’re all about–it’s the infinity of what makes us up and what’s inside each of us.
The perspective is infinitely big as we look upward and outward to the heavens, and infinitely small as we zoom inside ourselves to the subatomic levels.
The innerspace makes me think of mindfulness, meditation, and finding purpose, meaning, truth, and inner peace.
Our search for self is really the intersection of outer- and innerspace.
We are but a speck of dust and yet we have the power to do such immense good.
It’s a contradiction that is so powerful–for who are we that G-d is mindful of us and cares for us and gives us the power to choose good from evil.
Yet that is exactly our world and our place in it–and this is where we find innerspace in all of outer space. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
We went to the art galleries in Rockville Town Center today.
They had this video called “Neighbor” by Kanat Akar.
It’s about the life of a 13-year old refugee boy from Alleppo, Syria who migrated to Anakara, Turkey.
The video is eerie and hypnotic as it walks you through the eyes of this little boy and the misery of his life.
While to me it represents the dark side of life, there is so much to be explored and felt from it.
You can’t watch this without feeling like you are there on this dirty, squalor of a road to nowhere, but wanting desperately to know where it ends. 😉
(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)
Some people are so cold and emotionally distant.
They go around with a stone face.
No emotion seems to seep in or out.
The face doesn’t betray the heart in any way.
You say something or do something, and they just sort of stare at you.
No words, no outward response.
Just a stone face like a poker face.
You don’t know what’s behind it.
But worse yet is a heart of stone–nothing impacts the inside just like the outside.
Are some people this way because they have been so hurt in the past that they become hardened like a turtle’s shell to protect from the outside world.
…Ain’t gonna let nothing hurt me again.
Or are they great at using their poker face to fool, manipulate, and get what they are after.
Perhaps the worst possibility is that they are simply a real psychopath–someone without conscience or empathy.
Yes, that is scary because the unthinkable becomes thinkable.
For most of us, reading verbal and non-verbal cues is critical to understanding other people.
Hiding those cues can mean that the stone face is going to shatter someone’s world and that won’t be a pretty face at all. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So parenting is not always an easy job.
But it is one full of love and helping your kids.
Sometimes, I remember listening to my kids say that they feel this or that and seeing that it was holding them back from accomplishing their goals.
Often, I would tell them that the only people that really care about how they feel is your mother and father–but generally-speaking, it a tough world out there, and:
“No one [else] cares about how you feel.”
I tried to focus them–not on being cold and unfeeling–but rather on being strong inside and focusing on the tasks that need to get done.
Sure, feelings are important, but if you are getting held back from doing what you need to do–then there are times when you need to put the feelings in abeyance and go forward.
Overall, there is plenty of time to feel what you feel, but don’t let anger, fear, or anxiety get in the way of you accomplishing your dreams.
In a book that I am reading by Amos Oz, “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” he writes:
‘I want’ and ‘I don’t want’ aren’t reasons, they can only be defined as self-indulgence.
Yes, it’s a little tough love, but also it is out of true love to help the kids to be willing and determined to try their best and not get held back by anything in the pursuit of the destiny they choose to follow. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
A colleague was talking to me about negotiating and working with others:
He said something I liked:
Listen, empathize, and give a little.
Yes, we each have our beliefs and positions on things.
But we don’t live in a vacuum.
Other people have their own views, sensitivities, and wants.
We have to get along so we can work together, and get things done.
It starts by listening–not just hearing, but really listening to what the other person is saying.
But that’s not really enough.
To really understand the other person, we have to try to empathize with what they are feeling–we need to try to walk in their shoes even if just for a moment.
But that also isn’t enough.
We can’t have it all our way–we need to give a little to get a little.
No one can have everything and have a good relationship like that.
We need to compromise–as long as it’s not on things of integrity, conviction, or G-d.
Everything else we have to listen, empathize, and give a little. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Thought this was a funny comic strip in the office.
Today I’m feeling {choose your poison}…
While I’m sure that we’d like to be happy all the time, it’s not realistic to think that will actually be probable or even possible.
Sure, everyone puts on the big smile.
But behind the smile is often many other feelings
As one colleague said to me:
“People are complex!”
Isn’t that true?
Anyway, don’t beat yourself for feeling what you feel–it’s okay to be relaxing, excited, angry, sad, stressed or whatever.
Of course, that doesn’t excuse letting it get the best of you and bad behavior.
We’re adults, not children with temper tantrums.
Certainly, though, we are all human, and all feelings are fine. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
andyblumenthal