Tuesday 31 March 2009

Snakes and ladders

It was just a game
I played when young
It was just a game
That I thought was fun

It was just a game
No more than that
It was just a game
I liked to win

And..

In this game
There are many 'ups'
In this game
There are just as many 'downs'

In this game
You use your skill and wit
In this game
You avoid all snakes

As...

Throughout this game
You get nervous as you rise
Throughout this game
There is a possibility to fall

Throughout this game
There are 2 or more players
Throughout this game
There is only one winner

But...

It's not just a game
Of forwards and backwards
Its not just a game
Ruled by a dice

It's not just a game
As I now see depth
It's not just a game
Its the story of life

However...

Unlike this game
Your life is no competition
Unlike this game
Each 'snake' is unique

Unlike this game
You have more control
Unlike this game
Everyone can win

Saturday 28 March 2009

Pre-pesach Reflections

Cleaning gives one a lot of time to think, reflect how the last months have been and plan the dreams of the future. It has been a very rough last year for a number of reasons but as I am cleaning I am finally feeling hopeful, not that what has plaguing me these last months will disappear but rather that despite what I believe, what is happening, where I am, I will get through it and He will help just as soon as I turn to Him. Reading the blogs of others has also helped and I am working on trying to put things into perspectives. Their nisyonos are not mine and are not meant to be but it is inspiring to see how despite struggling you are all unwilling to give up. So thank you all those who have shared your life online with many of its usually unseen details, those who have commented on my blog and encourage me to plod on and the special few who have given me something that is incredibly valuable but they shared it anyway - their time. I know that there will be many more ups and downs to come but I have hope that it will be 2 steps forward and one step back and not vice versa.

I know it seems that this is a good bye but its not - I'm not leaving....just reflecting :)

Friday 13 March 2009

Purim reflections

It is no secret that many of those who were financially rich have lost money this year. It is no secret that those who were not well off previously are struggling more than ever. It is no secret that all local and international charities are dredging the last few coins from their coffers...which made the following scene all the more heart warming.

Along one long road within a predominately Jewish area every 50-100 feet there were a group of dressed up children and teenagers tentatively stopping cars. Each held a pushka or bucket of a different style and color collecting whatever coins were dropped in. And this is how these youngsters spent their day, for hours they stood there, children from all spectrum of the Jewish community, who would not even acknowledge to each other is the street, some may even ridicule the others, but shoulder to shoulder they stood, each determined to do their share, with a smile on their face and a thank you on their lips. And what made this picture even more precious was that each Yiddishe car driver stopped at EACH group and gave something to a few of those collecting, note that they had been stopped just a moment before and probably a moment before that too (there were I think about 6 groups along that road - on both sides of the road!). The drivers weren't getting irate as they usually would, there were very few honking of the horns at this slow movement of traffic but rather, each stretched out their hand to give and gave with a smile.

Yes, money may be tight, but it's not what you give but how you give!

Mi K'amcha Yisroel

Saturday 7 March 2009

Spring holiday

In many ways it has been a hard and long winter. Reflecting from outwards in, the state of the current economic crisis, the wars and terror attacks within the Jewish world, the suffering and high amount of deaths from unnatural causes within my community, have all added to the general slump of spirits. Within my own tiny world, I have lost count of the number of communications which were 'down' ones. Whereas a weekly shot of inspiration was once enough now it is needed twice daily, friends around me are gripping tightly to the edge of their world and feeling like the earth under them is moving and the level of sadness is rising. No, I am not exempt, I too have felt the whirlwind, I too have struggled.

After hearing a particular piece of sad news today I was staring out the window watching the thick grey clouds press down out the world, matching my mood and those of many others, when I saw it, I saw the first blossoms, those tiny white petals that speak of growth, renewal and a reminder that the sun will shine again. A remainder that the sadness would be lifted, the pain of loss would lessen, the world will continue and somehow it will all be alright in the end. Therefore I would like to put forward a proposal for a special spring holiday, a day in which work would be banned and a day where living in the outdoors would be compulsory, a day in which we should renew ourselves through observing beauty and growth around us and a day to just be at one with the natural world!