Embarking on our existential journey requires us to be prepared to be touched and shaken by what we find on the way and to not be afraid to discover our own limitations and weaknesses, uncertainties and doubts. It is only with such an attitude of openness and wonder that we can encounter the impenetrable everyday mysteries, which take us beyond our own preoccupations and sorrows and which by confronting us with death, make us rediscover life.*
My advice for the journey:
Love yourself and love others.
Look bravely at your faults and imperfections.
Better them as much as you can.
Forgive yourself for what you can’t.
Forgive yourself for not being who you can’t be.
Work hard to be the person you can.
Learn and grow from your sufferings and transform them into blessings.
Be open to amazement.
Know the wonder of your being,
far less than a fraction of a fraction of the physical universe
in a fleeting moment within infinity
possessing infinite worth and godly potential.
Buber teaches that you are the only you that has ever been or will ever be.
But you won’t be for long.
It is said that the way that “Satan” brings misery in the world is by whispering in everyone’s ear, “There is always time. There is always time.”
Trust me, friends. There ain’t.
So hurry up! – DBR
*Deurzen, E., van. (2010). Everyday mysteries: A handbook of existential psychotherapy (2nd ed). London: Routledge, p. 5.
Dear Rabbi Don, Thank you for sharing your “blog”. It’s message is inspirational during these chaotic times. I look forward to reading more in the future. It’s SO good to hear your “voice”, I’ve missed hearing your wonderful sermons, and now I can!!! Best, Dee
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