Week of Positive Blogging | The Life of Maya

Positive Blogging Day 6: Words of Wisdom

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Life goes by so very quickly, nothing reinforces that feeling more than getting a note in your mail for your college’s 10 year reunion or hearing the news that a girl you used to babysit for has moved to Israel, got married, and had a baby, all before the age of 23 or 24.

As I’m trying to write down my words of wisdom for the next generation, I am reminded of the movie “My Life”. I have not seen that movie in many years but considering the theme of this post, it is appropriate that I think of this movie. Bob (Michael Keaton) and his wife, Susan, (Nicole Kidman) are expecting a child. The scenes that have stayed in my head the most are the scenes where he is videotaping himself talking about life, sharing bits of wisdom and advice on tape, talking about girls, even shaving on tape. I wanted to find these scenes on YouTube but to my dismay I could only find a couple videos.I decided to post a summary video of the movie

Without any further ado, here are my words of wisdom regarding relationships in no particular order.

1. Relationships take work, and I am referring to all relationships you have; whether it’s family, friends, or romantic ones. Expect relationships to change, some you may keep for a long time, others are transitory. Along that note:

2. How can you tell whether a friendship is a keeper? If your friend is the kind of person who will tell you when you have spinach in your teeth, that person is most likely a keeper. If you feel better about yourself when you’re not with your friend rather than when you’re with that friend , that is not a good thing. Friendships are supposed to lift you up; you don’t choose your family but you can choose your friends and why would you choose friends that suck the life out of you?

3. Do not be afraid of arguments. However, there is a good way and a bad way to argue. If something a friend, family member, coworker, etc. says or does to you hurts your feelings, you should say something. Saying something to that person when you are angry will not do you or anyone else any good. You can never take back mean words you say. If it means you sleep on it, you sleep on it. Things look better in the morning after a good nights sleep.

4. Sometimes you hold back in fear of what people might think of you. I forget how I heard of this quote and I might not get all the words right but I think it fits the situation: You can please some people all the time and all people some of the time but never everyone all the time.

There might be more words of wisdom coming, it is only a little past 10 AM.

Positive Blogging Day 4: If I Had $30 Million Dollars

A Week of Positive Blogging

Today, I am supposed to write how I would change the world in 3 months with $30 million dollars. Up until now, I have had an easy time coming up with ideas for the themes of the day. Why am I having such a hard time with this particular theme?

For one thing, I cannot imagine having $30 million dollars to change the world. I would occasionally imagine what it would be like if I won the lottery but I was never motivated enough to spend the few dollars or however much it is to buy a ticket. More importantly, I believe that in order to change the world, you need to start at home. I admire organizations like Teach for America that send people to teach in rural or urban environments that need qualified teachers but I do not think you need to join organizations like TFA to change the world.

For example, I went to a volunteer meeting of New York Cares and learned of a shelter within walking distance of my home at the time that needed volunteers every other week to read to the children living there and to help with arts and crafts activities. I would not have known of this shelter if I didn’t go to the New York Cares meeting. New York Cares offers a variety of opportunities for volunteering, whether it’s once a week, once a month, or even once a year and you can work with different populations of people, there are opportunities to work with children and adults.

I am not denying that money cannot change the world; of course money is needed. But I have also heard of times when money has been given to organizations and we learn later that the money was not used well. The New York Times series on minority-run foster care agencies that is running this week illustrates that point. My point is that one does not need $30 million dollars to change the world. However, one must have a sense of compassion and most importantly have the persistence of a pit bull. No one ever said it was easy to change the world, what people like Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. have in common is that they did not quit in the face of adversity. They kept moving forward and that trait is the most important ingredient needed to change the world.

Positive Blogging Day 3: Marathon Runners and Eruvs

November 6, 2007 at 3:03 pm | Posted in Inspiration | 1 Comment
Tags: Week of Positive Blogging

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Today, you get two news stories in one post, lucky readers!! The first news story is about a courageous woman who finished her 20th New York City marathon. I did not get to see this woman when I was watching the marathon. I hope she treated herself to a massage and bubble bath after she finished the race. Anytime I do not feel like working out, I will think of this woman.

The second bit of good news takes place in my hometown. In my shul in NYC, you see lots of families with young kids in strollers. In the shul I go to at home, that is not the case, why is that? New York City has an eruv, my understanding is that some rabbis in NYC acknowledge the eruv and others do not. In the shul I go to, the rabbi acknowledges the eruv. It is beyond the scope of this post to get into why that is. In my hometown there was not an eruv for the longest time but things may change real soon. My hometown has always had a small population of Orthodox Jews but I think we will see an increase in the future. It means that mothers with young children, who were previously not able to go to shul, will be able to go to shul on Shabbos if they want to.

Positive Blogging Day 3 Posts:

Hochmah and Musar, Post 2

The Luscious Librarian

Becoming A Woman of Purpose

Ezekiel’s Daughter

Positive Blogging Day 2: Meet The (City) Parents

November 5, 2007 at 2:48 pm | Posted in Inspiration, Judaism | 2 Comments
Tags: Week of Positive Blogging

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I have made no secret about how much I love my neighborhood. There is nothing better on my walk to work than waving to cute babies with their parents or nannies and you do not want to know how many times I stop on the street to play with a cute puppy. But what makes this neighborhood even better is my community. Dr. O and Dr. N live in the neighborhood and I see them, along with my nephews, 1-2x a week. I also have a nice group of friends who I’ve met at shul and/or various dinners, Jewish events, etc. This post is about two of my friends in that group who have made a huge difference in my life.

I first met my city parents while taking classes at KJ a couple years back. At the time, I was just starting to integrate more Judaism into my life. I would take classes and go to Shabbas dinners but I was working on Shabbas because I needed the extra $. I made some really wonderful friends in these classes, among them was an older couple who was also on the same path. Seeing this couple in the same classes learning with such gusto inspired me and many other people in our program. I learned that my city parents used to work in the New York school system and they love the opera. They are very easy people to talk to, and are the best cheerleaders anyone could ever hope for. They expressed admiration for me and my friends for taking all these new practices on but in reality, I think that they are so much more braver than me. Changing such a major part of your life at an older age requires so much dedication and patience, I’m not sure I could have done it if I were in their position. In the summer of 2006, they decided that they wanted to make their kitchen kosher contacted Go Kosher. They have become parental figures to several of the younger people in our beginners program.

With the encouragement of my CP, I stopped working on Saturdays and was able to rearrange my part time schedule to work on 2 weeknights instead. My relationship with my CP grew; I got to celebrate the 60th birthday of my city mommy, we have shared several Shabbas meals together at shul and in their beautiful home, and we attended the weddings of two women who participated in the beginners program. They also attended 3-4 more weddings over the past 3 months of couples in our beginners program. I know for sure that my life today would not be the same without my city parents.

For more inspirational posts, go to:

Hochmah and Musar

Mes Deux Cents

Musings of a Diva

Rainbows and Butterflies

Becoming a Woman of Purpose

Bohemian Hippie Chick