A Soulful Journey

"Any love which is dependent on something, when the 'something' ceases, the love ceases. Any love which is not dependent on anything will never cease . " - Avot 5:19 It is good to ask our motivations for doing anything. If we better understand why we act the way we do, we can learn how to be more giving, less selfish. To learn to give from the depths of love is to learn how to always give. We do not need to always vie or compete against one another. Sometimes , when you win, I win. When you lose I also suffer. A farmer grew award-winning corn. He entered his corn in the State Fair each year. It always won a blue ribbon. What was his secret? People swarmed to the farmer to find out how he managed to always grow a great crop. The farmer looked at the inquirer directly in the eye and responded, “I share my seeds with my neighbors." After their stunned silence, the farmer went on to explain, All farmers know that the wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and

It is easy to grow impatient. We want the newest electronic gadget. We feel an inner compulsion to travel to distant places like our friends and neighbors. It is so important to be patient. Patience is tied to contentedness and that is a great gift of God. A young music student approached Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He said, "I would like to write a concerto. Can you help me?" "You are too young," Mozart told him. "Wait until you are older." "But you were composing music when you were seven or eight years old!?" "Yes," said Mozart, "but I didn't have to ask anybody how." Sometimes waiting for our moment is the greatest thing we can do.

It is so easy to become confused. Work is demanding. Parental responsibilities beckon. The car must have the oil changed. The roof needs to be replaced. The more possessions and responsibilities, the more problems. After a while we may begin to wonder what "it" is all about. The answer may be that life is all about gaining pleasure, joy, naches from the moment. It is not about waiting for the next event or buying a new automobile or getting past or over the hurdle in front of us. It is the now. " Man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has a meaning ." Viktor Frankl. Endow this moment with your best.

Sometimes it is hard to keep doing the right thing when we feel we are being beaten down. It is important to continue. Do not stop. No action is lost. No act is meaningless. Listen: Green Bay Packer quarterback Bart Starr used to give his son ten cents every time he did well in school. It was a routine that made the child work hard for that dime. After a particularly difficult game Bart went home to rest. There, attached to his pillow was a note: "Dear dad, I though you played a great game today. Love, Bart Jr." Taped to the note were two dimes . Do not stop.

" It is forbidden for a man to taste anything until he has first fed his animals." - Talmud, gittin 62 The needy always take precedence over those that can take care of themselves. They are dependent upon others to nourish them. They wait for someone to come with food. Like children, their expectant eyes wait for their mother to come along and feed them. What do they need? A friend? A meal? A good word? Some attention? The only reason we have anything is so that we can share it.

"How do I create a relationship with God? I do not want to mindlessly mouth words that have no meaning. Tell me how to approach God! Teach me how to speak and listen to Him." Long ago, the Maggid of Mezritch learned the most profound lessons from children. Watch them and learn. All that you need to do is apply them to your relationship with the Holy One, blessed be He. Pay attention. 1. Be happy with your toys. 2. Do not sit still. Work with what you have (and look for ways to improve your relationship with the Holy One, blessed be He). 3. Cry for what you want. (God wants to hear from your heart.) Applied to your life, this is all you need to feed your spirit and nourish your soul.

In addressing a class of would-be writers, J.B. Singer said, "Tell us about lust and denigration, treachery and adoration, senselessness murder and wanton love. Give us tension, fright, excitement. If one character says blandly, 'Good morning,' the other character must say. 'Drop dead.' Let your imagination go. Nothing can be worse than the way human beings behave." Is this true? If it is, make it a lie.

Look into the holy of holies for inspiration. Meditate upon it and then gather up the sparks of life. Torah is the source. It yields the nourishment that our soul craves. In the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai practically sings: "Torah, Torah! Light of every world! How many seas and rivers, wells and springs surge up from you? Everything emerges from you. Above and Below, all stand upon you. Supernal Light radiates from you. Torah, Torah! What can I say about you? You are a loving deer, the graceful antelope. Torah, Torah! Delight of your Master! Can any reveal or speak secrets and mysteries?" Weeping with joy, Rabbi Shimon lowered his head and kissed the earth. Did you know that the holy Talmud declares that even God studies Torah three hours each day? 1 "Fix a time for study every day," exhorts the the famous teacher Shammai. It is a balm to the soul as it brings the soul to ever higher levels. 2 1 Avodah Zarah 3b 2 Avot 1

i thank you God for this most amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirit of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any - lifted from the no of all nothing - human merely being doubt unimaginable you? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) e.e. cummings See the modeh ani at the beginning of your prayer book for the Hebrew version of this poem.

Instinct tells the eagle when a storm is coming. Long before it arrives the eagle settles on a high ledge and waits for the winds to begin their flailing. Just as the storm hits, the eagle spreads out its wings out so that the winds act like an undercurrent and lift it up. The eagle continues to be moved upward by the winds placing it high above the raging storm. The eagle does not escape the storm . It uses the storm to lift it higher. It rides on the same winds that bring the storm. "They that wait for the Lord...shall mount up with wings as eagles." Isaiah 40:31