Happy Thursday blogees! Ok First I need to wish my dear friend/sister Kathy a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Huggs to Kathy. Next, I have to ask anybody reading this to please spare a moment and realize how greatfull we we are to be alive and well. Say a little prayer or what ever you do to ask the universe to look over these people in Haiti. It is just heartbreaking. If you can give to a helpful charity..it will make you feel good.
Now "Religion" has never realy been my thing. I grew up in a fairly religious Jewish home. When my brother turned 13, he realized that he wanted to be a Rabbi. And he is today a Rabbi (who teaches in a Catholic School, But that's for his blog). Now, I went through all the Jewish traditions growing up..I was a hebrew school drop-out though..I never could learn Hebrew. That never stopped my parents from making me go to Sunday School though. When it came time to go to be Bar Mitzvahed, I memorized all of the Hebrew. I tried to me a good Jewish boy. I went to Hebrew High School 2 nights a week, I participated in the Jewish youth groups and even went on a Jewish cross country tour for 2 months one summer, but thats a whole other blog. Wth all this training and tradition..I never felt connected to God.
Ok..Do I believe in God..Yes..I believe that there is something that is contolling what goes on here on Earth. Actually , It was my Grandmothers dishes that convinced me that there was a higher being. I was working at Flyfaire Vacations in the 80's. There was a nice secretary there who everyone said was psychic. She was a very sweet older lady. One day I went over to her to request a reading...She closed her eyes and started crying..."I see pain...I see you in New Jersey... I see sadness...I see you carrying your grandmother's dishes. She never liked doing readings because it took alot out of her. I thought about what she said... I had no immediate plans to go to new Jersey. I thought the only reason I could go was if my Nana Mildred would pass..Now this was possible, but why would I carry her dishes..I would'nt be someone to do that. So months go by..I basically had forgotten what she said and I decides to go up to New Jersey for a visit. One day we were getting ready to go up to Somers, NY where my brother and his wife were living. Before we left, my sister-in-law called us to say that my brother Sid had been to the Dr and may have food poisoning or something. So we went up and Sid was very uncomfortable. We decided that we would eat lunch and then take him to the hospital..We couldn't pass up a good lunch...So Off they went and I cleaned up after lunch and babysat their new kittens.
Three hours later Mom, Dad and my sister-in-law walk in...Sid had his apendix out..So we decided to have coffee and desert before going to see Sid later..Food always help Jews in times of trouble..So we are sitting in the living room eating and my Dad says "Aren't these pretty dishes, These are your grandmothers." Well..I went WHITE! My poor Dad thought I was having a heart attack Pain!...New Jersey!...My Grandmother's Dishes! That was the moment I knew that there was a higher being that the secretary had connected with. I still get goose bumps thinking about it today.
So.. Be greatfull, Be compassionate and Be Superb!
Hey Uncle Rick!
ReplyDeleteSee, I do read your blog occassionaly!
Of course, when have you ever known me to not "jump in" during a G-d discussion. I actually agree with you for once.
There is a Hebrew saying in Judaism "Ayn Od Milvado" - GOD RUNS THE WORLD. It is a difficult concept to accept, it causes us to just have to bite our lips, buckle our seatbelts and go along for the ride. But ultimately as perhaps Kanye West may have phrased well "That which does not kill me, only makes me stronger."
So let me be brief about a STRONG man that I know and that is my Uncle Rick.
I have never known a person so interested, content and knowledgable about the simple things in life that all of us take for granted.. My Uncle can tell us what is happening in the news, prepare us for the next episode of all most anything on television, sing many Broadway shows by heart and inspire us to love what we have and just take things one step at a time.. All within just a few minutes of speaking to him.
My Uncle, for a reason that will always be a mystery to me, has had a difficult life, his health has taken him on an emotional roller coaster, that many of us would most certainly allow to consume us with anger, disappointment and lack of purpose. But not my Uncle Rick, he has accepted his circumstances, he does things to the best of his ability and he creates a meaningful life for himself, even in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where I am certain we will one day have to get chains but on his wheelchair tires, so that he can drive in 15 inches of snow..
He and I don't always get along.. But I would do anything for him and know that he can teach me a great deal about living life to its fullest.
Uncle Rick, I am proud of you, I love you and I know that whatever you undertake in your life, both good and bad, you will face it with courage and understanding and know that we will be there, not in front of you or behind you, but by your side.
I love you and keep talking.
Ben