Thought of
the week.

This week is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It is also known as the Day of Judgement, where our entire year is decided and decreed in the heavenly courts. Throughout my entire life, I have come into the holiday with fear, overwhelm, and concern of what will be this…

I just had the privilege of going to Israel, and together with my sister, we helped our mom move into a retirement community. The experience was wonderful and the camaraderie with my sister made me feel so close to her. It also made me sad because of how far away…

Expectations are resentments that are just waiting to come out. However, the truth is we all have expectations, and it isn’t at all realistic not to have them. To take it a step further, extremes of any emotion aren’t healthy, and in fact they can be deadly; it’s all about…

What exactly is forgiveness? Is it something that everyone deserves? We have all been hurt in ways which we didn’t deserve, and some of us have been hurt in ways that don’t warrant forgiving the person who has caused the pain. However, I still will argue that forgiveness—as I define…

Great leaders have many qualities, but humility is usually not one of them. With rare exceptions, they tend to be ambitious, with a high measure of self-regard. They expect to be obeyed, honored, respected, even feared. They may wear their superiority effortlessly—Eleanor Roosevelt called this “wearing an invisible crown”—but there…

The antidote to sadness isn’t happiness, it’s joy; it’s finding a way to celebrate the wins amongst the losses and embracing the sunshine amongst the storms. It’s a way to appreciate all the good this world has to offer, even though it’s much easier to focus on the bad. I…

I just got back from a truly magnificent vacation. I had a wonderful time, however my inability to turn off my mind, disconnect from my electronics, and escape my anxiety distracted me from being present, making it difficult for me to fully enjoy the experience. I find that when I’m…

“What makes Abrahamic monotheism different is that it believes there is an answer to the question, why. Neither the universe nor human life is meaningless, an accident, a mere happenstance. As Freud, Einstein, and Wittgenstein all said, religious faith is faith in the meaningfulness of life.” -The Great Partnership from…

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Many have been asked in their old age, what is important to them? Most people have shared, family, friendship, and service. In addition, most who have been asked if they would have lived their lives differently answer, “Yes, I wouldn’t work so much, I would spend…

Individual rights versus communal rights is a topic that has been on my mind lately. The one that challenges me quite a bit personally is forcing people with mental health challenges to take medication. On the one hand, when someone who has challenges is medicated, they make better decisions, especially…