Tag: Rami Shapiro

Tuesday’s Tidbits

+ I saw this on-line. It’s a good poem. I didn’t want to wait to share it on Soul Sunday, so here it is to enjoy.

+ Last month I read about the concept of “logos”. Many of the ancient philosophers believed that “logos” was an all-powerful force that ruled the Universe. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday gives the following analogy to explain “logos” : “We are like a dog leashed to a moving cart. The direction of the cart will determine where we go. Depending on the length of the leash, we also have a fair amount of room to explore and determine the pace, but ultimately what each of us must choose is whether we will go willingly or be painfully dragged. Which will it be? Cheerful acceptance? Or ignorant refusal?”

Interestingly, I read an article over the weekend by Rabbi Rami Shapiro who talks about a similar concept which he learned in rabbinical school. The teaching was from an ancient sage called Akiva and it goes like this: “Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is given.” Rami Shapiro says that this means that we make our own choices in our individual lives, but the Universe/God/Lifeforce already knows in advance what our choices will be, and thus also, how the outcomes and consequences of these choices turn out for us.

What do you think? Do we have complete free will in our lives? Is anything or everything about life preordained? Is fate already completely set, and are we just puppets going through the motions?

These are the types of questions that plague my mind when I would probably be better off being more focused and concerned about writing out my Christmas chore list, and then doing said chores. But I think that God knows this about me and my messy mind already . . . .

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Monday Fun-Day

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I hope that everyone’s summer adventures are full of “contentedness” and that the memories that spring from these wonderful adventures, add more contentedness to our lives, for years to come.

I love Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s Question and Answer column in Spirituality and Health magazine. I think that he answered this question, superbly. See below:

I used to be a believer, but COVID robbed me of that. How can I live without faith?

Rabbi Shapiro’s answer: “It’s important to make a distinction between belief and faith. Think of belief as a map and faith as a compass. A map tells you where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going. If the map is accurate, there are no surprises along the way. A compass simply orients you in the direction you wish to go and tells you nothing about the going itself. What you have lost is belief: You no longer trust that your map is accurate. But you can still cultivate faith and the qualities of curiosity, openness, humility, and not-knowing that faith embodies. Walking through life with a compass, rather than a map leaves you open to engage with each moment as it is, rather than as your map says is should be.”

Keep the faith, friends!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Just a Blip

It’s a dark and quiet and still morning, here at the house. My husband and I are the only ones up right now, working at our computers. It looks like it will be a rainy day today and for now, that sounds delicious. I have lit several candles and we have minimal lights on. Our dogs are back into deep slumber, after finishing their breakfast. It is so wonderfully peaceful. I hope that you all are experiencing the same calming peacefulness that I am feeling in this moment. I am bathing in tranquility.

I have mentioned before that I love to read Spirituality & Health magazine. The May/June edition of this year, is particularly good. I started ripping out pages that touched me, as I do with all of my magazines, until I realized that I was ripping out so many pages of this edition, that I really just need to keep the entire magazine, intact. Rabbi Rami Shapiro and I share most of the same ideas about spirituality. He answers religious/spiritual questions in every edition of the magazine and his answers are always so wise and compassionate and thought-provoking. I really like his answer to this question: “We humans are nothing more than a blip in the infinite expanse of the cosmos. Why do people matter?”

Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s answer:

“Think of the 26 letters of the English alphabet. These letters are the smallest component of this column – just a blip. Yet without letters there are no words, and without words there are no sentences, and without sentences there are no paragraphs, and without paragraphs there is no column, and without this column there is no paycheck, and without paycheck there is no food, and without food there is no me, and while I am also a blip, I matter – at least to me, my loved ones, and my creditors. So, while it is true that we humans are just a blip in the cosmos, without blips there is no cosmos at all.”

We blips matter. Shalom, rabbi.

FTF

FTF – Favorite Things Friday!  Were you thinking it meant something dirty??  There are so many acronyms these days.  Thank goodness for being able to google the Urban Dictionary or I may not be able to communicate with my kids in text form.   On a different note,  I saw this quote on one of those funny napkins yesterday:

“This salad tastes like I’d rather be fat.”

I don’t think that salads were created for Fridays.  Friday is all about letting loose, letting your hair down, and “sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy”!  My favorite days are days when everyone is really happy and Friday has the best chance for being that day! 🙂  On to favorite things:

The Daily Skimm – A good friend from college recommended this daily email service and for me, it is the perfect amount of daily news.  I avoid watching the news like the plague. (especially these days – it’s just all too depressing)  This gives the highlights of the major headlines of the day without going into too much detail. The summaries are light and funny and include links if you want to go into a particular news story at a deeper level. So, I am able to remain informed without getting too obsessed and too downhearted.  My husband and I have a daily morning routine, in which I read The Daily Skimm aloud to both of us while he is getting ready for work.  It’s a daily moment that I treasure.   Here is a link to join, if you are interested:  http://www.theskimm.com/?r=fdfcd0ab

Spirituality and Health Magazine – I discovered this wonderful publication when I had a job merchandising magazines.  (btw, that was the best part time job ever- it was like getting paid to exercise and read!  LOL) I love the articles, ideas and book suggestions in this magazine.  Mostly though, like most of the magazines I subscribe to, I have one feature that I turn to first and is probably the primary reason why I subscribe to the magazine.  That feature in this magazine is a monthly column by Rabbi Rami Shapiro called Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler that I think is just great.  The author is a very wise, insightful man and his answers to questions always make me think and reflect.  Rami Shapiro is also the author of several books.

SpiritCups by Capital Cups – Over the many years of school/sports fundraising for my four kids, I have cringed at some of the items we were supposed to pimp to our family, friends and neighbors.  Usually my husband and I decided to just take “the hit” ourselves because we couldn’t look ourselves in the mirror asking our loved ones to buy filthy expensive wrapping paper that tore the minute you touched it.  However, being mostly past the fundraising years, this is an item that I would actively look for a cute, sporty looking kid in the neighborhood with a clipboard and uniform, to sell to me.  The cups we have purchased from this company are all decked out in our favorite teams’ logos and they last FOREVER!  These are our go-to daily cups for everything we drink.  They are dishwasher safe and unbreakable.  My eldest son quit playing football when he was about 12 and we still have the cups that we purchased from his Pop Warner days and they are still in good shape.  He’s 22 now.  I’m not sure if you can purchase them just as a consumer, but if you are in charge of some fundraising, look into selling these cups.  They are great!!

I’ll end on a Friday quote I saw recently:

There’s just one legitimate synonym for Friday: boom shakalaka!

Thanks, as always for reading and sharing my day!