We start this post accompanied by Metallica’s Hero Of The Day and confirmation our 56th year is going to be memorable.
I can look back at what I wrote in The Hero’s Journey Part 2 last year and see with clarity how far I have come since then, not miles but at least a 1000 leagues.
If you asked me how much time has actually passed I’d say three lifetimes because who I was then isn’t who I am now, though elements remain.
Had to tighten my belt multiple notches because my pants were falling off. Had to add multiple sets and exercises to my workout because the work I have put in is yielding the results I have looked for.
Got news today that made it clear 56 is going to be the year of an overhaul of mind, body and spirit.
Raised my head towards the sun, eyes closed and smiled knowing I am seeing the results of the hard work I put in to get here.
Been through some of the hardest and most challenging moments I can remember and I am thriving.
****
Every night we light the candle
That stands beside our bed
But sometimes the flame’s too much to handle
That’s what you said
That’s what you said
And you should know
Because you built a fire in me and you made it burn
You followed me watching every move
Matching every turn
Green Eyes– Kate Wolf
Who Is He?
Spotter at the gym asked me about who I was cursing at the end of my fourth set on the bench.
“You said Fuck you David twice. Who is he?”
I smiled and said my arms were burning and I needed some motivation to get those last two reps in.
“Yeah, but who is he.”
I smiled and said he is a placeholder and an asshole that irks me. “Not worth worrying about, I am constantly looking for ways to push myself through one more rep. Been lifting for forty years, some of it has gotten easier, but my joints remind me how long I have been doing this for.
Call me in 15 when you are my age and tell me how things feel.”
****
I shared the following elsewhere earlier today and now withe news of the murder of two Jews outside the Capital Jewish Museum it feels necessary to share it here also
There is a concerted online effort to delegitimize Israel & to demoralize, demean & diminish Jews & other supporters.
It’s part of a multiyear plan & many of the people doing it aren’t aware they’re participating.
They don’t know enough of the facts to recognize they’re being used a drone to pound out nonsense.
They don’t question what they’re being fed & repeat it w/o recognizing it’s meaningless.
They don’t ask if it’s true, they point, click, copy & share.
The puppet masters try to hide some of the hate by using words like Zionist instead of Jew.They try to hide their hate by saying antisemitism is being weaponized or making blanket accusations.Substitute Black/Latino or Asian for Zionist and see how those lines read.
Challenge them to provide peer reviewed factual support of their allegations & few will do so.
They’re quick to say anything you share is propaganda while never questioning what they put out.
Point out the logical inconsistencies of protests & attacks against Jews all over the world for what happens in Israel & they’re quick to make excuses.
Bashar Al Assad’s forces killed more than 600,000 Syrians between 2011 & 2024 but there were no protests or worldwide attacks on Muslims because people were angry with Assad.
Don’t expect that to be accepted, it will be talked over or ignored because acknowledgement requires recognizing the hypocrisy of their actions.
Don’t expect people to explain why it is ok for Jordan to have been carved out of the British Mandate in ’46 but a small sliver of the same land that would have created a Jewish & Arab state in ’47 was a problem.
Ask them to explain why Pakistan was created in ’47 & there aren’t worldwide protests & most won’t have a clue where to start.
You’re comfortable w/dead Jews.
I am comfortable w/standing up for ourselves. I’m comfortable being hated for doing so.
We’re human & we’re going to get it wrong & make mistakes sometimes.
Some will be big & problematic but that’s something every country/people faces.I’m comfortable w/honest, fact based, balanced criticism- the rest I ignore.
I don’t lose sleep over the Jew haters, the ignorant. You’re a part of history, this time shall pass as all others have.
We’ll still be here.
So Many Changes
I don’t remember giving much thought to what I thought life in my fifties would be like but if I did I am certain I would say ‘so many changes.’
I didn’t expect the wave of Jew hate and violence. I didn’t expect many of the personal and professional changes.
Didn’t expect that in addition to health I would be working out the way I am now because I wonder if I am going to have to defend myself or others at Jewish events/institutions.
Didn’t expect to tell my children this was something their great grandparents and great great grandparents would recognize. Nor did I expect I’d tell them that even though things are pretty nasty we have more resources and recourse than our ancestors did.
I told them we won’t make ourselves small to make the Jew haters feel bigger and that we will never back down.
Told them to remember the importance of being educated in general and on topics about Israel & Judaism because that concerted attack I mentioned above is relying upon ignorance and misinformation to help push their hate.
“Our history is of being survivors. In every generation there is a challenge and this one is ours, we’ll get beyond it.”
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