You Ended Up In Hell City

So a friend told me something funny.

It was about being given what appears to be a wonderful opportunity, but in reality it’s not all roses. 

In short, it went something like this:

There was an exciting competition and a prize at the end. 
Everyone prepared and worked hard to win it. 
But when the competition was over, what was the prize?
The 2nd place was two weeks in Philadelphia. 
The 1st place was one week in Philadelphia. 

I had to think about that for a second, but that is really pretty funny and true. 

No not about Philadelphia, but about life–that what we often mistakenly want so badly and strive for with all our energies, and then only to find out that it really wasn’t as good or amazing for us and our families as we imagined. 

Yes, very often you set your sights on certain goals to win the competition, but then you find out that the BIG prize (“first place”) is really not something to get excited about, because it’s in Philadelphia!  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Choosing Good Over Vice

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel, called “Choosing Good Over Vice.”

But yet, if everyone would just act out on each other based on their unbridled wants and desires, oy vey what a truly terrible world that would be…From uncontrolled desires for food, drugs, alcohol, gambling, honor, money, power, sex, and more–it seems like everyone has their little secret fetish. Whether it’s coming from their head, their heart, or down below…the key questions is how much can they control themselves.

However, inside us, our soul, like the Ten Commandments in the Holy Ark, guide us so that we aren’t just animals chasing game or tail, but are human beings trying to become angels.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

A New Type Of Chocolate Chips

Ok, dieting is hard enough with all highly processed food out there these days. 

And everything is carbs, carbs, and more carbs…it’s literally poison for the body. 

But when you go into the store and see Lays chocolate covered potato chips…this just brings you to the verge of sin. 

The top are milk chocolate covered potato chips, and the bottom ones are dark chocolate covered ones. 

Choose your poison?

This is definitely a new type of chocolate chips…Hershey’s eat you heart out. 

I told my wife pleadingly, “Can’t I just taste one?” 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Only Game In Town

This was a funny sign up in Harpers Ferry yesterday, Thanksgiving Day. 

Outside this restaurant, it says, “Only OPEN Place in Town, GREAT Food.”

I suppose if it’s the only game in town, then whatever food they have is by definition “great”-compared to going hungry that is. 

Life is very much like this–where everything is relative. 

If I have too many choices–how do I choose? 

Whatever I choose, I may second guess myself that maybe another one would’ve been better. 

It’s like when I go out with my daughter to eat, somehow whatever she orders is always better than what I got!

But when choice is limited or non-existent, well then “beggars can’t be choosey.”

Essentially, your happy with what you have– perhaps, something is often better than nothing. 

But really it’s much more than that, because if you look closely at others, you realize that what you have is actually a pretty darn good lot in life–so don’t be envious, jealous, or be too quick to want to change places with your neighbor. 

Obviously, this was a very apropos sign for Thanksgiving–where we need to learn to be grateful for everything we have in life. 

It is our basket, and we wouldn’t want to trade it for anything in the world (and if you did, you’d be sorry afterwards). 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Heaven To Look Forward To

Took the family today to see the movie Heaven Is Real.

We were all crying like babies, including me.

Loved it!

When the boy has a near-death experience (NDE) and sees heaven, he comes back with stories about it being like here but more beautiful, where everyone is young, and relatives long gone hug him.

In heaven, there is no hate or fear–only love.

It was eye-opening, when his father, a pastor, goes to the hospital to say the last prayers with a dying man and the pastor asks, “Do you have any regrets?” and the old man answers, “I regret everything!”

While living for our selfish satisfaction and fun may be great for a moment’s high, it is certainly not a life of meaning and purpose–and will not open the gates of heaven to us.

That life is hard is portrayed in the movie–with loss, physical hurt, and financial hardships.

But when these are viewed in the bigger picture as tests in life for us to overcome in order to merit a heaven that awaits us–perhaps this gives us some added perspective.

In the movie, as in real life, there are those who are angry at others and G-d for what they lost, and it is our challenge to replace that anger with understanding, forgiveness, and love of each other and the Almighty.

Regretting everything is tragic, but probably not that unrealistic for many of us…particularly in a world where we constantly strive for our individualized versions of perfection.

In the end, I think our failures weigh on us and it’s challenging to see past them to appreciate our successes as well–in whatever measure we’ve achieved them.

Let’s face it, it is not easy to maintain 100% purity of heart amidst a world of lust, envy, and sin–but that should not take away from us constantly trying.

Heaven awaits–even the imperfect. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Two Lessons On The Road To Enlightenment

I watched a terrific PBS Emmy-nominated documentary called The Buddha(2010).

The show described the life of Prince Siddhartha from India about 2500 years ago and his “quest for serenity and eternal enlightenment.”

There were two highlights that I feel are really worth noting:

1) The Story of the Glass:

Prince Siddhartha saw a glass and marveled how it held the water, how it made a distinct ringing sound when tapped, and how it so beautifully reflected the light off of it.

After this, he imagined what would happen to the glass if the wind or shaking knocked it down and it shattered.

Then he realized the reality of this world is that the glass was (as if) already broken, and that we should appreciate the goodness of the glass all the more while it is still whole.

I loved this story, because it so encompasses Buddhist thinking in terms of its seeking to overcome human loss and suffering.

Like the glass, the reality of this world is impermanence and therefore, it is as if we have already lost all the people and things we love–therefore, we should appreciate them all the more while they are here.

Further, we can learn to cope with these feelings of (eventual) loss and suffering by ending material cravings and instead seeking out inner tranquility and spiritual enlightenment.

2) The Story of the Four Meetings:

The Prince who had been pampered his whole life (up until about the age 29) and had only known pleasure–the finest food, clothing, and women–until one day he went out and meet four people.

– The first was an old man and so, he came to know how people change.

– The second was a sick person, and so, he came to know how people suffer.

– The third was a corpse, and so, he came to know impermanence and death.

– The fourth was a spiritual seeker, and so he came to know escape.

I thought this story was profound in understanding the cycle of life–from birth to maturity and ultimately to decline and death.

And in order to escape from the loss and suffering (that occurs again and again through the continual cycle of birth and death and rebirth), we must seek to liberate ourselves from materialist desire, greed, envy, and jealousy.

These things ultimately causes us to sin and suffer and if we can break the cycle by meditation, asceticism, and spiritual wisdom, then we can find true inner peace and achieve nirvana.

Some personal takeaways:

While I am no expert nor a practitioner of Buddhism, I do appreciate the Buddhist teachings and try to integrate it where possible with my Judaism, so that I can find meaning in the path toward spirituality and faith in G-d.

One of my personal goals is to overcome the senseless drive for chasing endless materialism for it’s own–and ultimately–meaningless sake, and instead be able to really focus and achieve something meaningful.

I believe that meaning is different for each individual, and is part of our path of finding ourselves and our in place in this universe.

(Source Photo: herewith attribution to Christos Tsoumplekas)