Jewish Musings, Thursday 3/23

[lee058]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are certainly welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in!

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well today. It's sunny and chilly here today (20's), but it's supposed to be back in the 70's in a couple of days. I am happy about DS, and that is continuing to help me feel better even with the shoulder pain, as I said yesterday. This afternoon, I need to do a couple of loads of laundry and wash out some containers of yucky leftovers that were sitting in the fridge. It's amazing what a mess things can get into when the main person who takes care of things is not able to do as much as usual. I will be very careful of my shoulder, but something has to be done about this mess.

As for today's topic, I am going to copy the themes from yesterday, as I said. Here they come.

Related ideas for this week: How do you feel about having to deal with pain? Are you resentful? Sad? Accepting of it as something that happens naturally as you age? Are you angry at your body, fate, or God? Does this affect your personality, your faith, your self-esteem or your awareness?

As Jews, what is our relationship with pain and suffering? Do you feel that we experience them differently because of our history? What does your individual pain and suffering have to do with your identity of being Jewish?

(Plus whatever else we think up while discussing these aspects of the topic.)

I asked myself what I thought about how being Jewish affected my individual pain and suffering. I do not have any definite conclusions, but have come up with a couple of thoughts on the subject. For one thing, all my life, my mom has told me stories about our family and much that they went through. There have been a lot of difficult circumstances, some of which were typical of many Eastern European Jews, immigrants to the US, working people, people getting older and dealing with health problems, and so on. She always emphasized that we were survivors; that I came from a long line of people who had lived through all sorts of situations: some dangerous, some exhausting, and many complicated. She wanted (and wants) me to always remember that we lived through them and managed to make the best of them that we could, even though it may have seemed exceedingly painful and difficult. She wanted (and wants) these stories to inspire me to not give up when life has been rough. I am not trying to make a comparison between my ancestors living through pogroms and my dealing with weeks of shoulder pain; they are very different! However, those stories have inspired me to keep on going and do what I can. In this manner, being Jewish has encouraged me to look for solutions even when acknowledging the difficulties.

That's what I've been thinking today. I'll write more later when I can. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[savtele]

Boker Tov All! I slept in almost an hour this AM - tired from yesterday! It was a long day - my machine didn't work correctly (they are sending us a new one) but Tom (in charge of the FM) and I were able to keep up with the conference at least. I was happy that we were doing this class now, not mid-May, when the FM starts up. I ended up leaving before the store closed - I was pretty tired. Good News: while I was gone yesterday, my eye surgery center called - Next Friday I'll have my 1st cataract removed. I'm pretty stoked, and happy to be getting this done.

I think for most of us, it's a matter of personal inclination, whether the glass is 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. Nature or nurture, I don't know. If we are 1/2 empty people, we can learn to see, of not the positive, at least not the total negative of any situation. Like Frieda said yesterday - what's the worst that can happen?

I have a friend who is afraid of exercise. Not only fearful of hurting herself, but fearful of judgement by others who are working out at the gym or walking in the park (walking??!). She mentioned once that I "would be proud" of her - the weather was so beautiful, she "almost" went for a walk outside! Which made me laugh. My personal experience at the gym has always been words of encouragement from others using the same machines, ^5s from others in the class, and encouragement to "do what you can & adjust what you need" from instructors. Our gym now offers a class on the use of all the machines - how to adjust them, how to figure out what weights to use, good form (to avoid injury & get the most from your workout) - once a week, one of the trainers will take you around & show off every single piece of equipment.

Sun is shining today - it's cold right now, but supposed to get into the high 50 later - so I will plan on a walk partway up our hill & then later go work out on some of those machines that I know how to use now! Gotta start sometime! Meanwhile, I need more coffee.

Have a good day ladies.

[happysavta]

The topic of Jewish survival and the character traits it develops in us is right on, Lee. We are called a stubborn people. No matter what happens, we continue to struggle to remain Jewish.

We are a people of hope. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed twice, and we still hope to rebuild it. Passover is coming and at the end of the Seder, the verse is "Next year in Jerusalem". That is our hope. We hope for the coming of the Messiah to bring peace.

Survivorship is perseverance and hope.

[gazelle18]

I have personally never given up hope that I will lose the weight I need to lose, which I know would alleviate my pain. If that stubbornness, or persistent hopefulness, is part of my Jewish DNA, I wouldn't be surprised!

I'm super busy today, so this is just a quick post and run...

[hollygail]

I just got an email from Peachy. She's been laid up with a very bad sinus infection (she thought it was a cold). She had to go to urgent care two days in a row, the pain was so bad. They did a CT scan on her brain, which is how they found out what was causing her pain (no tumor, nothing like that; sinus infection!). She apparently misses us since she asked me to let everyone know her status... And she send her wishes that the rest of us are all hale and hearty! (her words) And I just got permission to give you her full Hebrew name, in case you say a mi sh'beirach: Shoshana Avivah bat Avraham v'Sarah.

[louise]

Lynne I wish I was similarly sure, but sometimes I think I will never lose the weight. I try not to stay there (no one enjoys a Debbie Downer) but that is sometimes how it seems (as you can probably tell, like now). Whatever. This too shall pass, this I know.

Gotta get a package out to the printer.