There are thousands of agreements you have made with yourself, with other people, with your dream of life, with God, with society, with your parents, with your spouse, with your children. But the most important agreements are the ones you made with yourself. In these agreements you tell yourself who you are, what you feel, what you believe, and how to behave. The result is what you call your personality. In these agreements you say, "This is what I am. This is what I believe.
One of my closest friends is business and branding guru Steve Yastrow. You know him as the lead guitarist in our Teffilah Band. Steve and I are writing partners. Sometimes we sit and write together, sometimes share ideas, sometimes wage a friendly competition of whose book will see the light of day first. His third book is called Ditch the Pitch. In his blog last week he wrote:
Everyone’s heart has been broken. I am not the only the one. Neither are you. The time you felt invisible, the time you were not relevant, the time that you were not loved they way you need to be loved, the time someone was mean to you, the time you were pushed or slapped or mocked or abandoned. And the times that you did those things to someone else, broke two hearts.
Ours hearts have been broken. And we have behaved badly.
5 Elul
What are you sorry about?
Think about it. Do not let it be a fleeting thought. Let it stay a while.
What are you sorry about?
Contemplate the complexities. Do not offer excuses.
But life is complicated. Say it aloud to someone else.
And then to yourself... I am so very sorry.
Rabbi Karyn Kedar
4 Elul
Separation and Longing: part three, third paragraph
Below is the third excerpt from Saki Santorelli's magnificent book, Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine (the entire excerpt is below today's message):
