Do we see and hear when people are hurting?
Do we pay attention or look away?
Do we even care?
Do we do anything about it?
As queen Marie-Antoinette said when told that her people were starving and had no bread, what did she say?
Let them eat cake!
Pray that we are better than that. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Thought this was an incredibly beautiful photo.
Someone playing ball with an elderly lady in a wheelchair!
Too often, I think we forget or neglect the older, disabled, and disadvantaged population.
These were once the people who cared for us!
As we grow older, life can get so much harder in terms of health, disability, finances, and even loneliness.
It is so important to show compassion, kindness, and care for the people who need us, and not to forget anyone along the journey of life! 😉
I saw this in one of the student lounges at the local JCC.
It says:
“Don’t Cut Down Others”
It’s far better to build people up then to tear them down.
Jut like with trees, it’s better to plant a trillion trees than deforest the Amazon Rainforest.
Trees are life and people are life.
Be constructive and not destructive.
Offer a nice word or compliment; provide an attentive and empathetic ear; give direction with some advice and guidance; lend a hand to someone in need; and in general, be a good influence.
Unfortunately, too many people default to cutting down the old cherry tree! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “The Life and Legacy of Sarah.”
The Rebbetzin explained beautifully that when we live a good life, not only does our soul live on in the afterlife, but our good deeds continue to have an influence in this world even after we, ourselves, have passed.
We should never underestimate our influence in this world, and that what we say and do reverberates like concentric circles that spread out from the source farther and farther. Moreover, while you might not think that what you do matters all that much or is a big deal, you never really know the outsize impact that it can have. Therefore, even while Sarah had passed and Abraham mourned her, the truth is that her legacy of the great Jewish nation was only just beginning!
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
People may all sort of look alike.
But they are not all the same.
It’s NOT a matter of race, religion, color, sexual orientation, etc. that is important.
But rather it’s what is inside people’s hearts.
Some hearts are pure in intent (even if not in every deed).
Others are sullied with hate and abuse of others just because they can.
But why hurt others when you can help them?
People are not all the same.
Inside they are different.
Luckily G-d looks at the inside; the outside is just the packaging. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I hurt my back last week.
Incredibly painful.
Difficult getting up from sitting or laying position.
Today, I was trying to walk it off a little.
One of my kids was walking with me taking good care of me.
We ran into a neighbor.
She was nice and asked about what happened.
I told her in brief and said how grateful I was for my daughter taking me for a little walk while I try to heal with G-d’s help.
She smiled and said how lucky I was (which I acknowledged).
I asked if she had any kids, thinking that she did.
But she goes to me:
I have no one!
I was a little surprised that she didn’t have anyone and how she said it.
I sort of repeated it quizzically.
She goes:
Well I did have a cat but she was 19 years old and I had to put her down.
I felt really bad for her, especially since I know she had an operation this last year and is planned for another one coming up.
I said that we’re her neighbors and friends and that she can call on us whenever she needs someone.
This whole thing just made me so upset–no one should be so alone.
I really pray that G-d has mercy on his children and that no one should be alone and that we should all have caring and loving people around us always. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
This was a funny photo…
Sign around the ape says:
Laugh now, but one day, we’ll be in charge
I guess you never know who will be in charge.
All of life is a circle–and everything and everybody goes around and around. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
It’s interesting…
There are a lot of good people out there, but there are probably more in your orbit that simply don’t care or worse.
You can have this problem or that.
If they even “give you the time of day,” people will nod, tell you how sorry they are, and probably relate some of their own misery.
The good people try to see if and how they may be able to help.
The others really don’t want to know, certainly don’t care, and just see you as baggage in the way.
But everyone has their problems!
If only people could look with compassion on each other.
We all struggle with our demons in this world.
Of course, we can’t let troubles get in the way of our doing what we need to do.
But people can make all the difference in just providing a compassionate ear and being willing to open themselves up to understanding others and helping each other or making reasonable accommodations so people can help themselves.
Listen, we all have our day–wouldn’t it be nice to be that person who is kind and generous to others and have others treat us that way too.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Thought this was a wonderful story on our perspectives in life.
And how money can corrupt our vision of what is truly important.
This is the story:
A rich man became ill.
He looked out the window and saw his old friend who was a poor man.
The rich, sick man invited the poor man, his friend into his house.
After talking awhile, the rich man asked the poor man to tell him what he sees.
The poor man told the rich man to go over to the window and asked:
What do you see?
The rich man said:
I see men, women and children in the street.
Then the poor man took the rich man over the mirror and asked him:
Now what do you see?
The rich man taken aback for a moment, said:
I see myself.
The poor man says:
Ah, that is the difference. Both the window and the mirror are both made out of glass. But when you look into them, you see different things. The window is just plain glass. But the mirror is glass covered in silver. When we look through just the glass, we see others! But when we look through the glass tainted with a coating of silver (i.e. money), we only see ourselves.
Wow! Think about it a moment. Shabbat Shalom! 😉
(Story adapted from Bishvil Ha-Ivrit)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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