AM Inspiration

Following in the same vein as the last post.. Tragedy, Crisis, Death, Disaster. These are all things that make us stop and think. They give us clarity. They give us perspective. They can also make us feel guilty. Guilty for the emotions that we are feeling at a time when we think its inappropriate. On the day that the murderer was on the loose, on a day when people were crying for the loss of their children, their father, their husband. On a day, when people feared for their lives..What was i doing? Was it OK that i was smiling a funny story my friend told me? Is it allowed  for me to be upset for no good reason? For me to be crabby and sad about my annoying roommates? One would say that generally, we should experience our emotions. We should talk it out. No one can judge you for feeling the way you do..but on a day when your "disasters" are laughable in the face of real tragedy...does that make your emotions any less significant? Are you allowed be to be...

Tragedy has once again struck the Jewish People, not once but twice within an extremely short period of time. When these horrifying events occur, we hope that we will make a change. Hope that this time will be the last time that we need to be shaken awake from our slumber. We hope that it will give us perspective. Perhaps, this will give us the direction that we need. It reminds us of our own mortality. Every minute we live is a gift. We do not know when that gift will cease. There are no guarantees. I have a chilling memory from when I was in seventh grade. A friend of mine turned to me during lunch, distraught," What if I don't wake up tomorrow?!" I had nothing to say. I could not reassure her that she would. How do I know what tomorrow will bring? Rather, I have no idea what will happen in twenty minutes from now. We live with a sense of calm and complacency. We live our lives as we should, without ever thinking about our own mortality. It is somethi...