Yesterday I learned that Rabbi Alan Lew had died. I didn’t know Rabbi Lew well, but I had the honor of teaching at an event where he was the keynote speaker two years ago. I remember his speach well; in fact, I used what I learned from him later in a talk I gave – and still give – about moving through fear. However, when I first gave that talk I lost the notes I took from his lecture. I always thougth I might call him up and ask him to repeat what he’d said that day. Now I can no longer do that. I’ve missed the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with him. I’ll always remember him. His memory will be a blessing for me in my life, as I’m sure it will be for those who knew him well.
I think – I hope – it will be a blessing for me in another way. It has reminded me of the old adage that we must never put off until tomorrow what we can do today. As the Nike ad so aptly puts it, if there’s something you want to do, “Just do it.”
I can’t begin to tell you how many things I wish I had already done but haven’t. Things I’ve been putting off for one reason or another. The reason doesn’t matter any longer.
I’m a writer. I have so many books in me. And, yes, they are still in me. (I help other people get their books out into the world while mine stay inside gestating…rotting?) I look at Rabbi Lew’s life, and without even really knowing him, I can accurately say that he touched many people with his books and with his teachings. In fact, I believe he tought a group of people that very morning before he died. He has left something behind that will continue to touch people. He also started a meditation center. He may have had more things he wanted to do, but he did a lot.
Don’t we all want to do that – to touch other people in some way, to make some difference in the world, to achieve something? What are we all waiting for? (Well, maybe you are the exception who isn’t waiting at all…)
I say, this is the year. This is the year to just do it. To commit to following our dreams and to pursuing our soul’s purpose and to getting something accomplished.
Why this year? Why not.
Anyone want to join me in this endeavor?
I’m not talking about just living life fully. I’m talking about taking a stand on one or two things you really want to do and actually doing them. I’m talking about not taking “no” for an answer. I’m talking about finding the time – making the time – for what’s really important to you. I’m talking about playing big.
Who’s in? Anyone?
In the Thirteen Petalled Rose,Adin Steinsaltz writes: “For each and every human being has a specific task to perform in the world, a task that no one else can accomplish.” I know my task, or I think I do, and I want to accomplish it. Do you know yours? Do you want to accomplish it?
Another writer, Carlos Castenada wrote that we should live with “death on our shoulder,” as if tomorrow could be our last day. If we always live that way, we won’t ever put off anything important. Most of us don’t know when our last day will arrive. I’m sure Rabbi Lew didn’t know when he awoke yesterday.
This is the year. This is the day. I begin now. Join me.
Almost by accident, I came across your article on Easter and Passover: Courage Comes Through Faith. It was a very critical time of decision in my life. It was a choice of going back to the comfortable secure path, or moving forward with building my business as a composer / arranger / orchestrator in LA, full time. It was really a “now or never” proposition.
From that article, the words “You have the answer, you know what to do, you have the tools” became a mantra of sorts for me. “This Year, Just do It” amplifies this directive even further.
We sometimes are seeking in our lives the perfect set of circumstances to begin a journey. Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I found my heroes and inspiration in the space program. I knew the name of every crew member on every mission, many to this day.
Alan Shepard, first American in space, found himself in a sticky situation sitting atop his Redstone rocket. Many delays added to his apprehension and nervousness, as with Castaneda, “with death on his shoulder”. Finally, he blurted out to the Houston controllers “I’m cooler than you are. Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle.” A few minutes later, he was on his way on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight.
From Nachson and the parting of the Red Sea, to Alan Shephard that historic day, it seems the biggest leaps are taken EXACTLY at the moment circumstances are less than optimal.
I definitely have my sensitive side, but in the final analysis, a bit of macho bravado is called for from time to time. It helps to keep the demons at bay. That little voice, “Joe, fix your little problem, light the candle” goes a long way. The perfect complement is Emerson’s sentiment “Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen.”
So, yes. This is the year. Not pretty, tempest-tossed, frightened sometimes, terrified a bit less, but forward – and upward.