Trying To Stay On Top of The World

  vol: #13 I have a confession to make. I am an avid people watcher.  I always have been, I am currently and I probably always will be. My earliest memories stretching back through time and space, are of me watching people. For me watching people was a survival mechanism. I was in Gan 3 (Nursery school) in Israel and I didn't speak a word of Hebrew.   The Gannent  (Nursery teacher) would do morning calisthenics with the children, and I had no idea what she was saying. Only after did I see all the other children jump up and down would I understand through some deep personal reflections, that I too was supposed to jump up and down.  By then she had moved on to the next instruction.  Causing me t to feel lost, unbalanced, and constantly feeling the need to play catch up. To this day I have trouble following instructions, especially from aerobic instructors.  I  need the instructor to call my name giving me one instruction at a time....very s-l-o-w-llllllllll-y, otherwise I tend to get

     vol:#12 Chodesh Tov Everyone!  According to the Hebrew calendar, we are now entering the new month of Adar. It is a month where we celebrate the miracle of Purim (yes, a one-day holiday has turned into a month of celebrations...) As a mother, Rosh Chodesh Adar marks a dual purpose on my calendar of life. 1) It marks the end of the school year. Yes, I know the school year ends in June, but from here on in it is just one party, one celebration after another.  So what my children have learned till now- I'm grateful for, anything that they might learn after this is a bonus. The other thing that  Rosh Chodesh Adar marks is when I actually have to wake up and start planning Pesach not just denying its imminent arrival. I love the month of Adar. I don't love all the balagan (sorry there is no real translation for that word, basically it means mess, but it's much deeper, much wider, and much more all-inclusive than just your ordinary mess), and the stress that comes with it, -

   vol:#11 Last week I spoke about people having different realities  (https://tovagoldmanqiforces.blogspot.com/2023/02/reality-and-duality.html) and this week I want to speak about potentially shared realities. There is something very unifying about bad weather. In a country where everyone has at least 30 different opinions about topics they know nothing about, bad weather is something that we can all agree on. "Hey, what about the rain?" (as a Canadian I automatically add "eh" to this sentence, but Israelis have not been educated to the wonders of adding "eh" to all your sentences.) "I hear we might get snow this week." "Yeah I heard that too" Not to mention the earthquake that we had. "You feel the earthquake?" "Yea, you?   "Yea totally." Somehow when bad weather hits all of Israel can stand together and agree. And we talk about the weather with such passion and excitement it is almost as if we are talking po

                                                                        Vol : #10     Last week on my blog I wrote about one of the first memories I had in Israel and  I shared a sweet remembrance about my grandparents bringing me to Jerusalem.   Little did I know how much my world would change in one week.  Last week on Monday my grandmother was still alive and there was still that faint hope that she would come out of her coma.  Last Wednesday my grandmother returned her pure soul to her maker after living a full and Rich life. My grandmother Left Behind more than 70 direct descendants,  which is such an amazing life accomplishment.    this week the blog falls on a Jewish holiday called Tu Bi-shvat a lot of the holiday concentrates on the rejuvenation and rebirth of nature and life itself Using trees as a metaphor for life. Such a fitting tribute to my grandmother.  On Tu' Bishvat We celebrate nature. Traditionally  In Israel on this holiday  we plant trees  and celebrate th e Se