Tag: Community
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Holding It Close
I have often thought the course of our lives is determined by loss. I know that this recognition of pain and acknowledgement of the impact of grief is a reflection of my own life experiences, far too much loss and far too young. I do believe that we have a choice as to how we…
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Working It Out
No matter who you are or what you do, life hands you challenges on a regular basis. We face situations that we cannot imagine will have a solution. We look at options that all seem laced with despair. We walk around with our stomachs in knots, unable to sleep, thoughts swirling around the problem that…
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Empty Vessels
They say that you can’t pour from an empty cup but that doesn’t stop many of us from trying to do just that. We push to get things done, to meet our obligations, to take care of others, to create change and so much more. We think that all that is required is determination and…
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What Remains
Despite the fact that I have lived more of my life away from my hometown, home is still home and the ties will forever remain. While we visited family this week, we did what has become a custom, the “cemetery tour,” paying brief respects to our loved ones no longer physically with us. Someone commented…
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Roots
I recently had the opportunity to meet someone who has given up his possessions and his home in order to teach, and inspire, others all over the word. He smiles when he calls himself “itinerant” and talks freely about the moment he found his calling and rid himself of the life he had previously worked…
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Moments
I remember, as a child, coming to the realization that a moment would never happen again, that each experience in life was unique and non-repeatable. I am sure that followed the first losses I experienced, of my uncle and then my aunt about six months apart, when I was 10. My father was devastated at…
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You and Me
When my brother was alive, there were more than a few times that I called him and said, with great agitation, “Oh my God, I think I am turning into Dad!” This was no compliment to our father, believe me. It was me seeing Dad’s over-anxious, over-worrying, high strung qualities in both my thoughts and…
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What Defines Us
If you were asked to define yourself in a single paragraph, what would you say? How would you distill the essence of who you are into a few sentences? This paragraph needs to be more than the simple declarative sentences that begin with “I am,” rather it is a look deeper at what made you…
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And Why?
Today was the Israel Day parade in New York City. For the third year in a row, I had the privilege of accompanying both assisted living and nursing home residents, along with staff and some volunteers, on this march down Fifth Avenue. As has been the case as long as we have been involved, we…
