This past week has been a difficult one for many reasons.  When I first began this blog, I wanted to write and publish one post a week.  I’ve had An Empowered Spirit up and running for over a month, yet this past week I could not find the time or the spirit to write my next post. Life got in the way.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

                                                            ~Albert Einstein

I’ve learned many life lessons during my first 53 years, and I know I will learn many more during this journey called Life.  Many of the lessons I learned were introduced to me during my formative years.  Some of those initial lessons are the ones I now question.  When we are young, we are taught values and beliefs by our parents and teachers, and naturally, we believe what we are taught at face value with no questions asked.  Our personalities and beliefs are not fully developed, and the adults that surround us begin to mold the innocence we are born with.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~Aristotle

As an adult, I want to be best prepared to face fear, doubt, uncertainty, aging, illness, and death with a sense of dignity.  I want to be the type of person who won’t dwell on worrying about these things but deals with them in my own way and quickly moves on to the business of living my life the way I choose to live it.

“Life is a game; play it.
Life is a promise; fulfill it.
Life is sorrow; overcome it.
Life is a song; sing it.
Life is a struggle; accept it.
Life is a tragedy; confront it.
Life is an adventure; dare it.
Life is luck; make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life; fight for It. “ ~ Mother Teresa

I was raised as an American Jew.  My parents provided a comfortable lifestyle for me in suburban New Jersey.  Three of my grandparents were immigrants from Russia and Germany, escaping horrific and unspeakable crimes against the Jewish People.  My parents were college graduates; my mother was a teacher, and my father was an attorney. My grandparents were proud of their achievements.  Parents always hope their children will live better lives than they did, trying to set good examples for them by living honest and decent lives.  My parents did that for me; I try to do the same for my son.

“To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself occasionally.”  ~Josh Billings

Many children of Jewish immigrants were brought up spending time (in addition to their secular studies) going to Hebrew School to learn about the Old Testament and how to speak the language of Hebrew. Children of my parent’s generation did not spend much time thinking about spirituality or questioning their day's lessons.  I grew up sometimes surrounded by Jewish friends and family, listening to their conversations about how deeply affected they were by the horrors of the Holocaust.  The atrocities that took place destroyed families forever, either directly or indirectly. Their spiritual and emotional beliefs were mired in the destruction they were forced to live through. Their new truth was never to let “it” happen again, as depicted in Alan Dershowitz’s book, “Chutzpah.”  Mr. Dershowitz, a noted American lawyer and political commentator, wrote that all generations should speak out about the atrocities of the Holocaust so it should never be allowed to happen again.  Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who later became a prolific author, political activist, and Nobel Laureate, wrote a horrifying account of his experiences in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps in his powerful book, "Night.” The horrors of his life in the camps detailed in his book are beyond comprehension.  “Night” has sold millions of copies worldwide and is now required reading in many schools worldwide.  Mr. Wiesel and Mr. Dershowitz continue to speak out about ending man’s inhumanity to man and teach us that every human has the right to respect and dignity.

“Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds.”~Elie Wiesel

Nowadays, I have decided to retain some of the lessons I learned during my formative years combined with lessons I have accumulated through my own life experience while adding a growing awareness that nothing in this world can be easily or clearly defined with one simple value.  I believe in a G-d.  I believe in surrounding yourself with the love of family and friends.  I believe in the deep and meaningful value of unconditional love from a pet, the merit of silently watching a sunset, or quietly listening to the summertime choir of crickets.  I know there is more than one way to cure a broken heart, and a single prescription for traditional medicine is not the only way to solve a medical problem.

In the solace of my mind, I wonder, think, and learn about alternative means of bringing happiness, joy, and understanding to myself.  I want to read about Buddhism, learn how to perform Reiki, volunteer for fundraisers to aid in cancer research, and perhaps, with a cure someday for MS, play a game of tennis with my husband.  I believe that opening up my mind and heart toward endless possibilities of thought and belief is a sure-fire path toward preparing myself for the inevitabilities of life.  I want to be the “best” person I can be – to live fully and well. Always.

How about you?