11 Jan Antiquities dealer in Jerusalem
Some 25 years back, in the “old city” section of Jerusalem, I stepped into a shop selling antiquities. As I looked at various objects in glass cases, the owner of the shop introduced himself and said he’d been an antiquities dealer for more than fifty years, had dealt in very fine and desirable objects and was sure he had something I'd like. I told him I’d been collecting antiquities for some time and wanted to look around. He then asked: “What are you looking for.” I replied: “I don’t know what I’m looking for until I find it.” To which he said: “In that case, you’re looking for nothing.” While not apparent to me at the time, ultimately he was right. Now, after many years of collecting antiquities and tribal art and generally living to pursue personal desires, eureka: nothing. Looking for nothing, desiring nothing; not because I have everything, but as I am the everything....
08 Jan Penn Tanenbaum
I told my six year old grandson, Penn, that a friend of mine is expecting to die of terminal illness in the spring. Penn said: “Your friend is lucky.” I asked: “Why lucky?” Penn said: “They are not dying now.” No one is getting out of here alive. We are all dying; some slowly, some suddenly. No point in worrying about it, but best not to forget about it....
08 Jan Way Of Way 104
Wealth and social status are imaginary hierarchies. Those atop hierarchies are generally very happy with themselves. When they look at those below them, they are pleased as they see the admiring and respectful faces of those below. However, the laws of gravity disturb this otherwise mutually pleasing relationship. Invariably, those atop need to relieve themselves and their droppings are resented by those below. There is nothing imaginary about that....
02 Jan Koan 67
"If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you!" -- Kotzker Rebbe When Moses encountered God in the desert, Moses asked God who he was. God said: "I am what I am." That is, God is indescribable because God is the Everything. Any other description implies God is one thing and not another; the antithesis of God. If I am what I am and you are what you are, I and you are God. However, if I define myself in terms of what I am not (you), I am not God. If you are God, I treat you accordingly; as I treat myself....
31 Dec Yogi Berra
"The future ain’t what it used to be." Our attitudes form the future....
30 Dec The Icelander
"The best place is wherever you are; from wherever you are you can experience everything." Iceland is well-known as the place to be on New Year's Eve, having the greatest display of individual and collective fireworks. I once asked an Icelander where is the best place in Iceland to be on New Year's Eve. His reply was the quote above....
28 Dec Easy Work
Work is something we do that benefits others and for which others pay us to do. Some aspects of work tax our time and energy and other aspects are engaging and enjoyable which makes the work energizing. Best to do the enjoyable work and get others to do the work that's taxing to us but hopefully not to them. My career was running a hedge fund. I worked 80+ hours a week, though it didn't feel like work. It was fun in good times and bad; maybe because I had a salesman, traders, analysts and an accountant on staff doing the work I had little interest in doing; or maybe because the fund was successful which allowed me and the workers to enjoy ourselves when not working....
27 Dec Heaven and Hell
Once upon a time there were twin sisters. They came from a good family, married well, had good children and lived happily ever after. Their lives were nearly identical but for one thing. One sister, Mary, was promiscuous and the other sister, Judith, was religious, adhering to a strict moral code. Everyone in their town knew Mary as "Mattress Mary" as it seemed she slept with everyone. Often, on hot evenings when people kept their windows open to let in the cool air, you knew in whose flat Mary was as she wailed "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." While Mary was howling, Judith was quietly praying to God to forgive her sister. When they were done living happily ever after, it was their time to go to the hereafter where God determined which sister would go to heaven and which to hell. I don't know the mind of God and whom he sent where, but I know that Mary came from heaven and Judith came from hell. The moral of this story is that "where is God to be found? In the place where He is given entry." -- Kotzker Rebbe....
26 Dec Complaint Department
Marriage is like a corporate partnership wherein one mate or the other assumes different department roles: Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Human Resources, etc. However, at times conflicts arise when there is confusion over who heads which department. For example, a wife might complain to her husband because she is unhappy about something he said or did. Her husband in turn might be taken aback by her complaints as he views himself head of the Rewards Department, not the Complaint Department. He then needs assign his wife to take charge of the Complaint Department as she has the most experience in complaining. Alternatively, when a wife is complaining, best to keep silent but for agreeing ("yes, you're right") with her gripes, letting her vent until she calms down. A mistake would be addressing her issues rationally or trying to help her perceive what irks her in a different light. Doing so tends to agitate her further and invariably results in her saying: "You don't understand me." Well, now you know she is right. If you understood her, you would have little to do with her....