With all the current events taking place I finding myself jumping to wrong conclusions.
We have the catastrophic Covid-19 virus causing the deaths of over half a million people. Followed by an ominous warning of an equal amount of deaths to follow.
Mixed medical directives are being issued by the medical community and the authorities.
Yes masks, no masks, stay home, go out, beach opened, beach closed, bars open, bars closed. The debates go on all the time. Who is the Mayvin with the last word? Is it the Mayor, the Governor, or the President? I believe it’s G-d.
Lately there were earthquake in different-parts of the world, followed by a huge sand storm from the Sahara desert all the way to America. Vast stretches of land are stricken by dying crops leaving thousands of people hungry and sick. The world seems to be in turmoil.
We live with continual changes, city and state lockdowns, restricting the movement of people ,and businesses. Black Lives Matter, protests being met with counter protests, violence of all kinds being expanded like never before. The emergence of the Antifa group and white supremacy movements. The removals of icons - statues - names of schools, hospitals and parks depicting leadership that does meet today's standards no matter what their accomplishments.
Our Government is being challenged. The police and law officers are being depicted as lawless and criminal. The National Guard and military have been put on notice if needed. Congress is in turmoil. No real clearlty is to be found. People are very confused. Where is our leadership?
All this and more makes me jittery. It can make you worry about things that are not there. Somehow we lose our equilibrium and become frightened. Is there an answer to the problem? I think I can find some way to deal with this. I call it the G-d Factor. Let me present an experience I once had.
It was a beautiful sunny day. The weather was perfect for a walk on the beach. Little children were playing in the sand and friendly people were walking or jogging. What a serene moment in my busy life.
All of sudden a black Mercedes passed me by and stopped. Two mid-eastern looking men stepped out. One stood there carrying a bag while the other approached me. (My mind begins to run in overdrive. ) They conversed in a foreign language, which sounded like Arabic. They may be part of a radical Islamic group I thought. And then they asked me: “Are you Jewish?” It scared me out of my wits, I said yes.
Once we realize that we do not have control over things that are not in our reach, we can then try and control that which is in our reach.
Then, the one holding the bag took out an old worn Jewish prayer book and said to me, “I come from Iran and have moved into the area. Where can I find a synagogue?” To say the least, I was very relieved. It made the rest of my walk very rewarding. Many people find reasons for making decisions based on false observations. How I jumped to conclusions without thinking. How irrational my fears were. What was the message I thought. In a peculiar way my recent experiences had been a wake up call.
The message is don’t worry about everything that can happen. It’s G-d who runs the world. We just work here! We need to make an honest resolution to thank G-d for all the good things and to adopt an attitude of gratitude for the happy and simple things in life. Once we realize that we do not have control over things that are not in our reach, we can then try and control that which is in our reach.
Just remember to reach out and express kindness to others. Put on that smile and live a healthy life. Most of all leave the heavy lifting to G-d.