May G-d have mercy on his children.
Please give the hostages their freedom.
(Credit Video: Minna Blumenthal)
Showing posts with label Crying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crying. Show all posts
April 7, 2024
June 12, 2022
Why I Cry At Circumcisions
Circumcision reminds me of Abraham, our forefather, who was tested and told to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, to G-d. It is truly counter-intuitive for a parent to hurt or sacrifice their child. Yet, this is exactly how G-d tested Abraham before the angel of G-d told him not to raise his hand to Isaac, and instead Abraham then offered to G-d a ram that was caught in the thicket. However, when it comes to circumcision, we are also tested and actually are commanded to surgically remove the male child’s foreskin and as the baby cries out, every parent, no matter how faithful and religiously devoted, winces and feels deeply inside for their child’s pain, even if it is only momentary and soothed by a sip of kosher Kedem Concord Grape wine.The rite of the circumcision is an incredible transcendental religious experience, where our very faith is tested and we go against our own physical instincts to protect the child, no matter what, and instead we submit ourselves to G-d Almighty, the Master of the Universe to perform the circumcision, because He told us to. Whether there are medical benefits or not, G-d commands, and we obey. We are His people, and his thoughts and plans are infinitely greater than ours. At the circumcision, in an act of complete faith, we graciously give over our male children and ourselves—in body, mind, and soul to G-d. We renounce our desires, our gratification, our very instincts, and put ourselves in G-d’s merciful hands. In that moment of selfless giving, we fulfill our covenant of generations with G-d and we affirm our holiness as individuals and as a nation.
(Photo Credit: Avital Pinnick; https://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr/4678468852/)
December 1, 2019
Lifeguard Needs A Lifeguard
The guards are required to renew their lifeguard certification every two years.
When I asked if he swims, he said "not regularly" and then when I asked if he exercises, he said half-jokingly: "I sleep, eat, and drink!"
But then he told me about the lifeguard exam and a couple of people who should've never been taking the test.
One lady gets waist deep into the pool, and the proctor tells the lady to swim to the other side of the pool and back. Instead of swimming, she starts crying hysterically that she doesn't know how to swim!
Another guy was swimming funny with his arms flailing and his butt out of the water. When the proctor asked him what was up with that and to show him what was hiding under his trunks, the guy showed him that he was wearing an inflatable plastic band under his pants.
Fail, fail, fail--these are life endangering guards, NOT "lifeguards!" ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 17, 2019
A Good Father
In my dream, I was looking at this ledger.
And at the top of the ledger, it said:
"A Good Father"
I understand that good didn't mean like good vs. great, but rather like good vs. evil in this universe.
Beneath it, there were lists and lists of signatures of people who knew my dad.
Their signatures were an attestation that he was not only a good dad, but a good and righteous person.
I remember in the dream his presence was there with me as I looked at the ledger.
Then there was an astoundingly bright light that I was basking in.
Now I could feel I was in the presence of the Master of the Universe.
I looked up to the center and most intense part of the light, and lifted my arms upward in complete supplication to it...towards G-d.
And I felt myself crying out to G-d, and as I cried out louder and more intensely, I was transported back--whooshed through a tunnel at light speed...to awaken from this incredible dream.
Unlike most dreams, this one I remembered and it stuck with me even days later now.
My dad was truly a great father and a great man!
I am grateful to Hashem for letting me see him this week, and I miss him greatly. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
April 16, 2019
(Maybe) Stop Complaining
He was a very lively speaker and with a lot of worthy teachings for his lucky audience.
One thing he said that really stuck with me is about people that complain.
People have hard lives!
As he said, "I don't know what each of you has been through."
But one thing that can help us cope with our challenges is our perspective.
And then he said the following:
We need to be glad that we have something to complain about!
Huh, what does that mean?
Well, think about it...
- If you complain about your spouse, thank G-d that you are married (and have a life partner) to complain about.
- If you complain about your job, thank G-d that you have a job (and income) that you can complain about.
- If you complain about your food, thank G-d that you have food to eat (and sustenance for your body) to complain about.
And so on and so forth.
Whatever we complain about, think about what you actually have (the big picture) and what you are complaining about (usually the little picture).
Really, we have so much to be grateful for that we can easily just forget or take for granted.
So next time your complaining, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE that you are complaining about--you might stop yourself from complaining. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 26, 2018
What's It's Like To Be A Bag
My son-in-law joked about feeling bad for the bags all crinkled up and thrown in with all the others like that.
He drew this little sign on a paper towel, and put it on the fridge:
Bag's life
This is what a crying creased up bag looks like.
Maybe even inanimate objects have feelings too.
As human beings, we can learn to treat everything in the world kindly and with appreciation.
Bye bye baggy. ;-)
(Source Drawing: Itzchak Ochayon)
December 29, 2017
When The Wires Get Crossed
I'm sitting toward the front of the plane...more room, that's good.
But there are a bunch of families with small children and babies...and that ends up being bad.
The flight attendants bring out this contraption to hook up a crib device to a front wall of the plane for the parents to put the baby in to sleep.
But there ends up being one small problem.
The overhead lights are seriously messed up.
This passenger with the baby tries to use his button next to his seat to turn the bright reading lights off--this is like row 10 or something.
But when he hits the lights off button--instead the lights go off in row 22.
And they stay on in his row keeping his baby awake and crying virtually the whole flight.
The stewardesses are going crazy trying to figure out where the "wires got crossed" here.
When they go to row 22 and ask them to turn off their lights--thinking maybe that will turn off the lights in row 10 that is keeping the baby up and crying--but instead that turns off the lights further in the back of the plane in row 30-something.
This was a really bad comedy going on this plane.
The baby keeps crying and crying.
The stewardesses keep running around trying to figure out how to get the lights working where they are supposed to be working.
And the parents are frustrated as hell trying to calm the baby and get some rest on this lengthy, cross-ocean flight.
Needless-to-say, all the other passengers trying to get some rest weren't thrilled at this ridiculousness going on.
The plane got us home, but the electrical system didn't inspire any confidence and kept the baby (and us) up almost the entire flight.
When you think that this was just the lights--oh boy!
Because what if the wires had gotten crossed between something important like the accelerator and the brake instead? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
July 17, 2015
Work-Family Is A Word
Yes, work is not family--it's your job.
But on the job we meet people that influence us, change us, and sometimes inspire us.
Not everyone has a positive impact on us--some people we work with are bad, unbalanced, selfish, biased, and abusive--they bring their personal craziness into the office.
But some are truly good people out there--and they leave a lasting impact.
This week was the first time I experienced someone in my group passing away suddenly.
She was at work Monday and Tuesday--we had talked and joked.
I remember she wore pink on Tuesday and it matched a pink stuffed animal on her desk--she looked happy or at peace.
By early Wednesday morning, I was getting texts then calls that she had passed away (I simultaneously let my boss know).
One day she was there in the office (and had been for some 30 years) and the next day she was gone.
But there was something special about this lady and how she interacted with the team.
She seemed to touch people far and wide with her outreach, caring for others, joking around, and good spirit despite whatever challenges she herself may have been going through.
When she passed this week, people were in my office and the halls crying--they loved this lady, their coworker and friend.
At 9 AM, I gathered the broader team to announce her passing. "One of our own has passed." I spoke and then went around offering others to say a few words, which some surely did.
At 10 AM, I sent a notification of the passing to the people in the entire building (and others associated).
Later in the day, there was a toast to her and more speeches from up and down the chain to remember this good lady as well as to pull together as a team to support each other.
By the next day, things had quickly moved to care for the family, packing her office things and memorializing her, as well as provisions for some grief counseling.
[Note: I am blessed with an extraordinary high-performance team, and this passing was not only a shock but added to the intensity of the work we do and how much of it there is.]
Once we have all the funeral arrangements, then next up is sending out an broader department-wide notice--and a large attendance for her is expected.
What I learned is that while work itself can be productive and meaningful, through doing good to others and sincere personal interactions on the job, there can be bonds formed that can have a personal impact on people and bring tears to their eyes. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 23, 2015
Feeling It All
We feel love and hate, joy and sadness, hopeful and anxious, peaceful and distraught, and countless more emotions.
While some people come across as stoic, others seem to take it all in (maybe even right on the chin).
Hence, the perennial stone-faced poker player verse the person who seems to show every emotion and just can't hide it.
According to the Wall Street Journal, about 20% of both men and women are what's called highly sensitive people (HSPs).
HSPs simply feel everything more!
These are the people who are crying at the movies and so on.
They can also be extremely empathetic and caring--because they just almost intuitively understand.
I think they are also deep thinkers, they are watchers of people, taking in the stimuli and processing it in terms of their feelings.
I remember as a kid sitting with my sister and her friends who were considerably older than me--8 years--and I would listen to their "mature" girl conversations go on and on, and then at the end, I would just sort of say my sensitive two cents, and I think more often then not, I got a lot of surprise looks at a young boy who seemed a lot older and wiser than his age.
In retrospect, I think that I was always just very sensitive to people, their plights, their hurt, the injustices in the world, and sought to understand it and try to make it right.
The flip side is that one schmuck of a manager years ago said to me, "You need to get a thicker skin!"
But you know what, I like feeling, being very human, and deeply experiencing the world.
I would imagine (having never tried drugs, true) that perhaps people who get high either are running away from some feelings or running to others--but as a HSP, you just feel it all straight up.
Being very sensitive to the world can almost be like extrasensory perception...sometimes you can see what others don't, but you also have to learn to cope with the firehose flood of feelings--sometimes even having to tune some of it out.
Cut me and I bleed, caress me and I am comforted. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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