Thought of
the week.

Have you ever found that when someone is speaking to you– especially when their viewpoint is different than yours– while listening to them, you will immediately begin crafting your response? Rather than listening to what the other person is saying, and determining why they are saying it, we are often…

“Love is the highest of emotions. We are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, and might. But it is also, in family contexts, fraught with danger. Love brings joy. It also brings tears. It brings some people close, but makes others feel distanced, rejected.” The wise words of…

Last week, I was taking an outdoor cycling class, and the instructor kept telling us to listen to the beat, and to do our best to stay on the same foot as one another. The instructor wasn’t so much interested in the choreography of what we were doing— he was…

Sometimes, the simplest epiphanies are the ones that have the most massive impact on us. And sometimes, these insights and realizations are centered around something we already know, yet thus far have chosen not to practice. When we experience these epiphanies, and set out to put our realizations into play, these…

I have been reflecting on a conversation I recently had with a friend of mine, who suffered the terrible, unthinkable misfortune of losing a child to cancer. This friend endured a massive, life-changing loss, yet they still always seem to be happy and upbeat, despite their misfortune.   I was…

“We need to develop a conscience that does not permit us to wrong, harm or hurt someone even if the rules permit us to do so. The moral life is an infinite game which cannot be reduced to rules. We need to learn and internalize a sense of ‘the right and the good.”…

If we wish to live in harmony within our world, it is absolutely paramount that we reach a point of making peace with our dark selves. In my life, it has been a recurring negative self-appraisal— or might I say, a nightmare— that I have what I choose to call…

It is undeniably important that we seek to practice empathy and kindness for others and their struggles, yet at what point does empathy become toxic, and kindness become inappropriate? On that note, we all want to make the people around us happy, but how do we know if we are…

“Love can turn curses into blessings. It is the only force capable of defeating hate. Love heals the wounds of the world.” Maimonides, a 12th century philosopher (and so much more) made the above statement. His words carry so much weight, and I have spent a great deal of time…

Raising children has to be one of the most difficult jobs we have on this earth, and while it can definitely be one of the most rewarding experiences, it can also be extremely devastating.  Last night, a family I know lost their child. You would be hard pressed to think…