L'shana Tova.

I ALWAYS appreciate Rosh Hashanah's prime timing. It always seems to roll around both when you least expect it AND when it is most needed. Here are some interesting and enlightening words from a columnist/blogger woman from Movie City News;

"Today at sundown marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is the the beginning of a time of reflection in the Jewish faith called aseret yamei teshuva, or ten days of penintence; Rosh Hashanah is not just about asking forgiveness from God for the things we’ve done wrong in the past year, but about seeking out and apologizing directly to those we’ve harmed. It’s the time of year to reflect upon how we’ve been doing with regard to repentance (teshuva), prayer (tefillah) and charity (tzedakah).
But what do those things really mean, as we apply them to our lives? The idea of repentance isn’t just about apologizing and being forgiven, it’s about strengthening community, about trying to live a life of righteousness. It’s about how you make your life have meaning outside of yourself, every single day, about the kind of person you strive to be — not just on Rosh Hashanah, but every day of the year. And you don’t have to be Jewish to find value in the spirit of what Rosh Hashanah means...
...
Trying to live your life by thinking consistently about how your actions impact others is, to me, the spirit of what Rosh Hashanah is all about. We cannot help but do wrong in our lives, because we are human, and to be human is to err. But we can try to be aware of this, to acknowledge honestly that we pretty much always have something to repent for: a harsh word when a kind one would have been a better choice; starting — or continuing –a fight on Twitter with a colleague; snapping at our partner; holding onto resentments; failing to be grateful for the myriad kindnesses others show to us.
But if we all carried the spirit of Rosh Hashanah with us, every single day and not just once a year, how much better could we make our communities, the lives of our friends, the lives of our neighbors and co-workers, and even the stranger in line behind us at Starbucks? If you chose to try to live every day being positive and happy and mindful of others, who knows how much that spirit of kindness and community might pay forward to the lives of others, in ways that you’ll never know?"


And some may wonder why I respect the Jewish faith so much. Let's talk more about spirtuality and humankind and positivity and less about God and Jesus and blood. Just my preference.

L'shana Tova. May this year bring positivity, light and learning.