Living Life One Moment at a Time

#678 Living Life One Moment at a Time

Your mind and soul can choose to think, speak, and act wisely and meaningfully wherever you are at any given time. You live your entire life one moment at a time. You only need to choose to think one wise thought at a time. You only need to choose to say one positive sentence (or word) at a time. You only need to choose one meaningful action at a time. These all add up.

(from Rabbi Pliskin's new book, Life is Now: Creating moments of joy, courage, kindness, and serenity, p. 22)

Now or Never

It's almost Yom Kippur -- the Day of Atonement when the fate of the Jewish people will be sealed for the year. Who shall live, who shall die, who shall become rich, who shall go the other way, etc., etc. So, in thinking about the holiday, I am struck this year with what a Blessed year (kpp) I had. I had so much love, so many happy times....God is good. But I don't believe in punishment based on repenting one day. I think repentance is an ongoing process, as is loving, every day of the year. I think that striving to have good midot (character traits) is a process that supercedes one day of "confession." I think every day is a day of taking stock, every day a day of confession -- and of absolution. The sages say that there are three things to lighten a "sentence" by God -- prayer, charity and repentance (or, an alternate to that is prayer, charity and Torah study). So, every day we have the opportunity to begin again -- to ReDecide -- what we are going to do, what we are going to say, how we are going to live our lives. Ethics, morals and values are not for one day a year -- they may inform that day, but are quintessentially the infrastructure of our lives. Every thought, every feeling, contributes to the overall. This Yom Kippur, I wish you an easy fast, but more than that, I wish for you an easy year to come, when all your decisions lead to joy and ease. I wish you love and peace and candor. I wish you every good thing. And thank you Jamee and Cherrie for your wisdom and caring during this year. Be happy! Coach Paula

Today

Today is usually my day of rest, but today is my day of action. Time to go to the store, cook and finish getting ready for the New Year! Hope yours is Sweet! L'Shana Tova. Coach Paula

Evaluate Positively

#672 Evaluate Positively
Which descriptions do you use more often? (a) "It was awful, terrible, bad..." (b) "It was great, wonderful, terrific..."
Resolve to increase your frequency of positive evaluations.

-- Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

(For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Self Knowledge," p.225)

Freedom in Structure

This is a great paradox -- if you want to be truly free -- live by the rules! Create a structure that is based on your values. A client recently told me a great story, illustrating the point. She was going to an afternoon wedding, at which the attire was "open season" according to the bride and the bride's mother. "Well, how inviting was that?" she said to me, with a wink in her voice. She had gone out and bought a beautiful long dress, multi-colored, with beading at the empire line. But she said she didn't feel comfortable. She thought that given the venue, she should tone it down and wear a black cocktail dress. She said that the next step was bringing both dresses, trying on the long dress (which she had conveniently forgotten to have shortened to the right length for her shoes), and deciding that she couldn't go through with it. It was the Bride's day, she told me triumphantly, and the bride would be the star! She said that she always liked to be wearing the prettiest dress in the room, but of course that wouldn't be the case, since the bride would be gorgeous. But it was the motivation, or intention that counted. She said that the extreme pleasure she felt in putting on a simple, but elegant, black street length cocktail dress made her day. No matter what, now, she wouldn't stand out. She didn't have to. I acknowledged her for her incredible insight and ability to put forward her true "best self." This was an object lesson about true beauty -- putting the feelings of others first. This is coaching. Have a great day! Coach Mierel (Paula)

Elul

This is the Jewish month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It is the time to review the past year from the perspective of one's actions and behavior and to take stock of one's life. What did I do these past twelve months? What didn't I do? What can I do better next year?

It is always good to reflect on how one is living his/her life -- all the moreso when one is about to be judged by one's Creator.

I hope I did more Mitzvot, good deeds, than the year before. I hope I helped someone, made someone's road easier.

I pray that I did not cause anyone pain. And I pray that I may live to give, or, as they say, "Merit to do another mitzvah."

Zrizut (rushing) when it comes to doing mitzvot and silence when it comes to saying what should not be said.

May you have a great spiritual experience this Elul as you prepare for the Days of Awe!