Greetings friends
We had Halloween, and now we have dear Elly’s birthday – a great day of celebration. Perhaps it should be a national holiday.
And coming up this week will be the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht - a government-sanctioned pogrom conducted on Jews on November 9, 1938 - as the Germans smashed synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout the Reich. I fear today, too many people forget the horrors and inhumanity of man to man as this same behavior is exhibited not just in Russia and Europe but in Canada and the United States. And wasn’t the cowardly terror attack of October 7 a pogrom?
The people the world over have lost their minds. They truly cannot understand what they have subscribed to because it makes no sense. Ask any protester if they support the idea of genocide and extermination, and they’ll say “no,” but they are protesting for it. Ask any protester if they favor the execution of gays, and they’ll say “no,” but they are protesting for it. Ask any protester if women’s rights should be removed, and they’ll say “no,” but they are protesting for it.
Too many today have no idea what they are doing. People stopped asking questions and seeking knowledge. Knowledge from TikTok is not knowledge. Unfortunately, there are too many turning a blind eye. Wake up; look around. Would that, for once, when we say never again, it ushers in a period of “never again.”
We are also but a week away from Remembrance Day in Canada and the former British Empire and Veterans Day in the good old U.S. of A. Honor the veterans – those who fought for freedom and democracy. Not what you see now, but what was truly the right to say and think and be and engage in dialogue. We have fought censorship to the point where now we invite it, but once freedom is gone, it does not come back so fast. You do not realize what you lost till you look for it.
We may not like everything everyone says, but we do not have to agree; we do not have to listen, but we should always defend their right to say it without putting our own judgments in place. Today’s judgment will not be tomorrows. Look at how things change over time. History is no longer studied. If it is not liked, it is erased, and then we learn nothing.
We have the opportunity to live beautiful, full lives of sharing and caring, but instead, we have become a splintered, fragmented society built on differences. A friend of mine said to me that we only live once, and I reminded them that we only die once – but we can live every day, but living takes effort.
Taste of the fullness of life every day, my friends – time is the one commodity you cannot replace.
We have moved centuries beyond the creation we read about and have singled in on a family we met last week – the family of Abraham and his descendants, the centerpiece for the rest of the Bible. We are seeing the theme of relationships now – man and wife, father and son, brother and brother, man and creator.
This week, we are also introduced to more angels than anywhere else in the Bible, and we see them as the true messengers and representatives they are. Angel is the English version of the Greek Angelos – messenger, which is from the Hebrew melech – messenger – whose root letters are mem lamed kaf – mlk – the same root as malach – king, who was the country’s political messenger.
These messengers are with us all the time, but often, we do not realize it. Stop and listen; they are talking to you all the time. They come and tell Abraham about the son he is going to have; they warn Lot to leave Sodom; they intervene when Abraham is going to sacrifice his son Isaac. They are often the warnings, the feelings, the senses we have and share. They are the stranger on the train.
They are with you. Listen.
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Thank you all for allowing me into your homes, into your electronic devices, into your hearts – as you are all with me in mine –
Be well, be happy, be healthy, be free, be kind, be forgiving, be compassionate, be independent of mind and deed, be mindful of your intentions, and be good to yourself. Continue to celebrate freedom of choice in your life, do not give in to fear, and enjoy the peace that comes from acceptance – as always - if you have any questions or suggestions or want to say “hi,” please send me an email. I love hearing from you.
And remember, anytime you do not want to receive these anymore, please send me an email so I can remove you. And know - that I truly appreciate your sharing your sacred time with me.
Enjoy and celebrate your life and the lives of others, and in doing so, be happy. May you all sow the seeds of and reap the rewards of peace, love, and miracles, and make sure you also celebrate your unique individuality and incredible awesomeness.
And remember – your world is what you make it. Just wish upon a star and continue to be the angel in someone’s life.
Blessings
RD
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