Thinking Outside the Cup

Dedicated to the victims, the struggling, the survivors.

I feel like I'm supposed to have a "take" on this massive earthquake and tsunami. Here I have a soapbox, what am I going to say?

But this is not a current events blog, right? So I can ignore this, right?

But how can anyone ignore a global emergency?

Japan is the epicenter of this, so let's talk about Japan.

There is something I always admired about Japanese culture: the famous zen tea ceremony.

The tea ceremony gives you the diametric opposite feeling to an earthquake/tsunami.

The tea ceremony is all about paying meticulous attention to the finest of details.

How much attention can you pay to pouring a cup of tea?

Answer: Infinite attention.

The tea ceremony trains you to focus intently on the present experience, on this moment and on this place.

The news teaches us to focus on the big picture, on the global scene, on history.

Question #1 for your table: How do you find the right balance between the two?

Answer: As long as you're plugged in to the media stream, it is almost impossible not to be distracted by it. Think about it. Last week someone sponsored a "national day of unplugging". Obviously the idea is inspired by Shabbat.

Question #2 - How would it affect your life if you and your family/friends experienced a "day of unplugging" every week?

Shabbat Shalom

PS - Here's a different perspective on disasters that I wrote after the 2008 China earthquake.
PPS - Here is a 3rd reaction to distant disaster, very spiritual, very Jewish.

The Week That Is

Sometimes, so many things happen, it’s hard to digest them.

Yom Kippur, earthquakes and tsunamis, births and deaths, and on and on.

There is this idea that the 6 days of the week – Sunday thru Friday – are “unified” on Friday night.

Meaning, each day has a different energy, a different wavelength, a different set of challenges and rewards.

On Friday night, these 6 units of time coalesce into a single unit, “the week”. The opportunity to let these 6 gel is called “Shabbat” or “Shabbos”, which literally means “stopping to run around and do things in order for all that you’ve done the past 6 days to be able to coalesce and be digested.”

So much has happened this week. So little has happened.

I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with NPR. They have had some stories that have been so anti-Israel it makes some people think of them as “national Palestine radio”. But mostly they have some real gems.

Here are two stories from this week that I wanted to share with you.

The first is about Jennie Litvak, who learned to play trumpet from Dizzy Gilespie, and now plays shofar: Click here.

The second is my brother’s story this morning, on health care co-ops: Here.

Here’s the question for your table: Can you remember one thing you worked on or accomplished each day this week?

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Sukkot

PS - This US Army broadcast from Nazi Germany stirs the soul:


“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” - Churchill