I didn’t expect to hear Leonard Cohen sing Who By Fire in my ear as I started writing this post but then again I didn’t expect many things to happen.
Had a couple of people reach out and say they were having trouble following recent posts over here so I made a couple of tweaks and will list recent posts just below this ‘graph.
- When Mothers Scream
- Some Of My Favorite Writing
- Some Questions Don’t Need To Be Asked
- Places In Time & Space
- You Will Take My Hand…Again
- How To Wrap A Shmata Around You
- What About Your Liver
Aging Isn’t For The Weak
There hasn’t been a week during the past month in which I didn’t hear about someone who was kidnapped or murdered in Israel through a personal connection.
That doesn’t mean I knew the person or family of the victims but it has never been that stereotypical six degrees of separation, it is always far closer.
It wouldn’t have taken much for it to have been someone I know because the community and country are that small.
That doesn’t seem to be something that many people recognize or understand. Nor do they seem to get that the deluge of antisemitism is something that I am constantly aware of.
I keep writing about it not just to try and clue others in but you can’t insert yourself into as many online debates, discussions and arguments or be involved in as many other places without it impacting you.
Writing is part of how I expel some of the poison and deal with the venom that is spat at us. Heard some nastiness at the gym and made it clear that it wasn’t the kind of thing that could be spoken without consequences.
Things quickly turned silent but I can’t say if it is was because they were ashamed, embarrassed or afraid to see where that path would lead.
Heard my grandfather’s voice in my ear asking if this was the time and place…
****
Woke up the other day with a kink in my back that took a few days to work out and still haven’t figured out what I did.
It didn’t prevent me from working out but I did modify things a bit out of a preponderance of caution.
That lasted for a moment and then I got irritated and tried lifting heavier weights than I normally do. Managed the sets with good form and felt less grumpy, but still grumbled.
I can go far heavier than I do, but after a while my joints seem to notice. I can push through the irritation but I wonder if that is doing anything positive or potentially causing other issues.
So I cut the weight by 25 percent and work my way back to where I want to be. I figure if I am patient I can ladder my way back to it.
It is not easy accepting that I have to make these adjustments but I’d rather slow things down and keep going than do something stupid that would stop me from exercising for a while.
It is all mitigated by knowing I can still do what I want, just not like I used to. Not perfect, but it works. Got to be smart and put your ego aside or deal with stupidity.
Like a friend says, there is vanity and there is sanity.
Been unfriended, unfollowed and blocked a bunch of times recently and found myself snorting in response.
If you have to write me to tell me that you think I am a bad person or whatever other insult you come up with just before you block me it says more about your insecurities in yourself and your position than anything else.
I don’t need everyone to agree with me.
Sometimes the people I engage with aren’t people I think I can influence. I don’t expect them to change their minds or adjust their position.
The purpose of my words is to support others who might be afraid to engage or to influence the lurkers.
Am I winning hearts and minds and or doing anything positive with this?
It is hard to measure. I have had multiple people thank me for it and received a chunk of opposition. Don’t know that I have a particular opinion on this.
Think I’ll finish with another link from the iTunes mix I was listening to at the start with what is playing now.
