I can’t believe I’m saying this, but …

… there’s a part of me that feels sorry for Donald Trump. Wait … wait … hear me out before you have me committed or banish me.

First and foremost, I am NOT a fan of his, never was, never will be — and the sooner he’s out of the White House, the better — for his own good, the good of his country and the entire world. But …

Donald Trump is sick. Really and truly, seriously and dangerously mentally ill; and, I believe, he is also a desperately unhappy man. I’m no psychiatrist, but I don’t think you just suddenly wake up one day this crazy. I’ll bet he showed signs as a child and, for whatever reason, he
never got the professional help he so sorely needs.

He is so hideous, in every way, that it’s very easy to be

My Dalai Lama moment …

I can’t believe it’s been nine years since I went to India. One morning, out of the blue, I woke up and decided I was going and started planning a trip. Although sometimes I wonder just how “out of the blue” it was.

My mom had died about 10 months before and the last few years of her life weren’t easy on either of us. She never looked sick, she never
lost her spirit, her love of life, her energy or her sense of humour, but there were numerous visits
to doctors, numerous nights spent in emergency,

Turkish delight …

I saw a wonderful documentary last week, about street cats in Istanbul, where hundreds of thousands of them roam freely, and have for thousands of years. In the film, Kedi, we meet seven of them.

To be perfectly honest, much as I love cats, part of me wanted to see the film and part of me didn’t. I hate to see animals (or people) suffer and I was afraid these pussycats would look

The happiness effect …

Actually, just looking at this photo and imagining myself in it makes me happy.  So beautiful and serene.  But what inspired this post is a terrific article I read on Facebook last week.

It’s about Matthieu Ricard, a 69-year-old monk who’s being called “the world’s happiest man;” and here’s the link if you want to read it.

He believes that when you think happy thoughts, for even 15 minutes a day, you’ll start getting positive results in just

Day 144. Becoming ‘Involved’

Yesterday I read a truly inspiring post on The Green Study. In fact, it was the second installment, in what is going to become a series on ‘giving’. Now what every writer knows is, each of us ‘reads’ differently. We read ‘into’ things differently. We all extract a different message, a different meaning.

My ‘take’ on what I’ve been reading is, the author of this wonderful blog is grappling with figuring out how she can support the causes she cares about, in a way she finds meaningful and personally satisfying. Which isn’t always by writing a cheque. Again, let me reiterate. This is my interpretation of what she’s saying. It may not be her intent, at all. You should read them for yourselves. Believe me, you’ll be inspired.

It’s made me think of my own approach. What I do. How. And why.

Sometimes, it is by writing a cheque. I have many friends and family members who have, unfortunately, been ‘touched’ by one

Day 71. Being Generous

Yesterday I wrote about my dad; and one of the qualities I talked about, was his generosity. I’ve been thinking about it and, while he was certainly generous about sharing the fruits of his labour, it was all the other, much more important and meaningful ways he was generous, that made him the wonderful and beloved human being that he was.

What comes to your mind, when you think of ‘generosity’?

For me it’s when someone needs a hug, and your arms are outstretched. When someone needs a shoulder to cry on, and yours is waiting. When someone needs a sounding board, and you’re all ears. When someone’s in trouble, and you’re there to lend support.

When someone needs attention, and you’ve got all the time in the world. When someone needs a helping hand, and yours is at the ready.

Generosity of spirit, is what I’m talking about.

Day 33. Come Again?

Sometimes I have no idea why an idea or a thought pops into my head.  Last night, for some reason, just as I was going to bed, I suddenly thought about reincarnation.  Why?  Who knows.

It didn’t keep me up all night, as my ideas often do.  In fact, I think I fell asleep as my head touched the pillow.  But I remembered it this morning.  And, because I do believe that there’s a reason for everything, I came to the conclusion that this is the topic I should be writing about today.  So tell me …

Do you believe in reincarnation?  Do you believe that, once you’re dead, your soul can begin a new life?  And that you (as in your soul or your spirit)  can come back as another human, as an animal or even in a spiritual sense — depending on how good or bad you were in your previous life?  Karma.  Reincarnation is, by the way, at the very core of the Indian religions.  In an earlier post (in fact in a few of them) I talked about how kind, compassionate, understanding, generous and selfless I found the Indian people to be, when I visited there.  I am sure this is at least one of the reasons for it.

In jest I always say that I’d like to come back as one of my cats.  And who wouldn’t.  No stress, lots of love, never hungry, never thirsty, and a comfortable place to lay your head (my pillow) when you’re tired.

But in all seriousness, the idea of rebirth is not an altogether unpleasant thought, at least not for me.  Which is contrary to the teachings of my tribe (Jews).  In fact, within the majority of sects within Christianity, Islam and Judaism, it is not believed that we come back again.