The Shocking Truth About a Megalomaniac's Daughter: How One Person's Courage & Kindness Can Change History

Moses in the Bulrushes

Last weekend was a joyful time as our son Jacob celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. 

As is customary in our synagogue, he spoke at the end of the service about something he had learned to do with the Torah portion he had read earlier in the morning. This portion tells the well known story, set in Egypt, of Moses (Moshe) being hidden in the bulrushes and subsequently rescued, to prevent him from being killed by the ruling Pharaoh. 

The lessons Jacob articulated in his speech, relate to bringing comfort and caregiving through empathy, courage and kindness. He also discusses how we can learn to resist the tendency to stereotype at first sight. I thought these messages would resonate with you and so I have reproduced the speech here.

Getting Out of Bed. 5 Ideas to Help When It's Hard to Face The Day.

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed. ~Mason Cooley



When I first read this quote it made me laugh. 

Yes! I thought. Courage is definitely needed as winter begins to hint at its arrival. 
As hope for a dry, crisp day replaces the hope of a warm, scented one. 

As mornings become darker and colder, the changing seasons do that to you. They can make you want to hold the covers high around your body and squeeze your eyes tighter to stop the grey light from seeping in.  

I wonder how many of you feel this way on a Monday morning. (Or Tuesday or Wednesday....)

Sleep is a quiet, contemplative space. A time where you can retreat inside of yourself, into your dreams and thoughts and nothingness.

For some, getting out of bed is more than just getting over the alarm clock nudge. It takes true courage and hope to face another day. 

You may have had the odd day like that. Or many in a row.

5 Rewarding Reasons to Take a Risk-Why It's Worth Getting Your Feet Wet.

Here's a secret you didn't know about me. 

I really don't like walking barefoot. I know some of you hate wearing shoes but I don't like to be without them.

I wear my shoes from the moment I get out of bed until I get back in again. Yes I do take them off to shower and to put on socks, but even if it is flip-flops, I always have something on my feet. 

I don't like the feeling of crumbs (and in our house they feel as though they are everywhere)  or kitchen tile in-between or under my toes and my feet are often cold so shoes of some kind, off-set that. 

And here's another secret......

What Would You Do if You Knew You Could Not Fail?

This photo is mine. Please ask before copying

Well ........What WOULD you do if you knew you could not fail? 

Sometimes the challenges and changes we are faced with seem insurmountable. We want to do something new or change our lives in some way.

But we feel very small in the face of much larger egos, obstacles and organizations. These feelings of being unable to take on the giant, looming large, can stop us in our tracks, root us to the spot and paralyze our thinking and behavior.

The Strength Of The Human Spirit

Design by Jazzydesignz

There is no doubt that first responders, soldiers and other brave men and women who choose to take on life threatening jobs to keep us safe are very special people indeed. 

They need to be physically strong, psychologically stable and extremely well trained to carry out their missions. 

Equally however there seems to a piece of them that needs to be extraordinarily positive, determined, thoughtful and caring in order to cope with the aftermath of their experiences. 

The strength of mind and spirit in these soldiers seems to be as important as the buffed up muscles in their torsos and biceps.

After my post How Do You Cope? I received this very poignant message from Marcy, a breast cancer survivor herself, who had spent the day at Walter Reed Army Hospital in DC. 

With Marcy's permission here is her comment.