Tis The Season

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my first post.  Hopefully, I can keep your attention for a few minutes.  This weekend is the culmination of the High Holy Days for the Jewish faith.  It is now that I am humbled by the fact that during this tough economy, I am still fortunate to have my health, my family and my job.  And I am very grateful as well.  The topic of my first post is one of atonement and forgiveness.  There are so many  people that we interact with on a daily basis.  Some are just acquaintances and some are very close to us.  Most don't impact our lives significantly but those that do mean everything to us. 

No matter what the relationship with those that you interact with every day, if you have offended someone or hurt someone's feelings or even neglected to give or return a smile, those actions need atonement.  We all have difficult situations that we are dealing with in our lives and a few spoken words of encouragement may be just what that person needs from you.  And the great thing about sharing hope, help and encouragement is that it does as much for you, the giver, as it does the receiver. 

I am reminded of a moment a few weeks ago when I was taking care of some paperwork at the courthouse.  I saw one of the domestic violence workers dealing with a very young girl, maybe nineteen or twenty.  She had a black eye and it was obvious that she had become a victim of somebody's anger.  She looked so scared and confused.  A few minutes later, as I made my way through the Sheriff's department, the girl was entering the records division (assumably to have her domestic violence order served on her attacker).  As I passed by, I turned and said, "Excuse me.  You don't know me but I just wanted to say that I am proud of you for being here."  Did it mean anything to her?  I don't know.  Will she return to the abusive relationship?  I hope not.  But regardless of the situation, if those words gave her any comfort at all in the middle of a very scary and stressful event, it was worth saying.

So please take this opportunity to mend a broken friendship or relationship.  Take the time to stop and lend a hand to someone who might not have another person in their life that would care enough to do so.  Remember how fortunate you may have been in the past to receive just that kind of help and do what you can to pay it forward.  G-d bless each of you during this holiday season and until next week....

Namaste,

Melissa