Tag Archives: Joe Laur

A Day to Live

24 Thursday Mar 2016

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“Two questions to consider: 1. If you had only a day to live, who would you be with and what would you tell them? 2. What are you waiting for?”

-Anonymous

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I was just headed to dinner at a retreat I was leading when I checked my personal voice messages. The first was from a woman I knew, telling me in tears that a mutual friend we both worked closely with, Ron, had been murdered. In shock, I called my office voice mail immediately, expecting other colleagues to be calling me upon hearing the news.

The first voice mail on that phone was from Ron. He had called me just a couple of hours before being shot to death. His voice was light and breezy, he made a few remarks about a project we were working on together, and then said 3 words I’ve never forgotten: “Call me tomorrow.”

There I was, just minutes after learning of his death, hearing his voice confidently plan a tomorrow that would never come for him. I’ve never taken tomorrow for granted since that day.

We talk about and plan for tomorrow as if it were in our shirt pocket. But one day the shirt will be ripped off, the pocket torn open, and there will be no more tomorrows. It’s not morbid, just data. Not knowing when that day will come means we may want to have our affairs in order, at least on the emotional and spiritual level, today.

The two questions above really help to focus what and who is important to us. Once we know who we want to spend our time with and what we want to tell them, why wait? For the last day? No telling when that day might come, and it may be sooner than we think.

Who do you want to be with today, and what do you want to tell them?

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Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Taking An Interest In Politics

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

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“Just because you don’t take an interest in politics, does not mean that politics will not take an interest in you.”

-Pericles

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Over 40% of  eligible American voters didn’t bother to vote in the last presidential election. Only 42% bothered to vote in the 2014 congressional elections! A third of eligible US citizens aren’t even registered.  And the older, whiter and more affluent one is, the more likely they are to vote. This means that our state and national policies are actually being decided by a minority of the population who are aging out of the long term impacts of their choices, and better protected financially from them.

As Pericles points out, just because we are not interested in something, doesn’t mean it’s not interested in us. Ask the nearest rabbit. They don’t have the luxury of being unaware of what the foxes and hawks are doing. Those that are oblivious are not oblivious for long. They are lunch.

Now I’m in that demographic that tends to vote. But I don’t think that people who look like me should be making the decisions for the rest! So this election cycle, I’m not just gong to support my candidates- I’m going to support people in registering and actually voting. If we don’t vote, we don’t count- literally. If we don’t vote, we are saying “whatever” to our future. If we don’t vote, we are actually voting “I’ll have what they’re having” without having seen the food. I personally think that voting should be mandatory,  like paying taxes. But until it is, I have just one thing to say: “Vote as if your life depends on it- or it just may.”

How can you engage and get others to engage in our common civics today?

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Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BCE) was arguably the most prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age— specifically the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.  Thucydides, a contemporary historian, acclaimed him as “the first citizen of Athens”. Pericles promoted the arts and literature; it is principally through his efforts that Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. Pericles also fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Everything Counts

22 Tuesday Mar 2016

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“Everything you do is important to God”

-Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
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When I was in college, my friends and I had a little saying: ” A hundred years from now, what difference will it make?” Back then we used the question as an excuse to have another drink, another hit of some banned substance, another sexual adventure, another moral lapse. Our message to ourselves was that our nasty little actions were of little consequence in the long scheme of things.

Thank G!D, I’ve grown since then. Now when I consider the same question, “A hundred years from now, what difference will it make?”, I think in terms of long term impact and leverage. How will my actions impact future generations, a world that I’ll never live into or see? How can I make a difference then by what I do now?

In that context, even little actions are potentially momentous. Over time, small changes can shift a long term trajectories, create whole new worlds. As a great actor once remarked; “There are no small roles.” Every little thing we do, and how we do it, is important to G!D, and the future.

What can I do today to make a difference in 100 years?

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Menachem Mendel Schneerson (April 5, 1902 – June 12, 1994), known to many as the Rebbe, was a Russian Empire-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and the last Lubavitcher Rebbe. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Actions Trump Words

20 Sunday Mar 2016

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“It is not what one says, but rather what one does, that makes all the difference in the world. “

-Shimon ben Gamliel

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Like a lot of people, I post my thoughts and ideas on Facebook and other social media. It feels good to express myself, and many people tell me that it touches their lives, informs their thought, or brightens their day. And that’s good. But words, while a form of action, only carry us so far. Translating words into deeds truly amplifies them in the world.

This is the difference between a sentiment espoused and one practiced. Donating to a candidate or cause and knocking on doors to support them do worlds more than just expressing agreement on my timeline. Handing a gift card for the local grocery store to a homeless person holding a cardboard sign moves the world a little bit. The early apostle James famously wrote that “faith without works is dead.” I need to not just believe in something, but to do something. Action is values made tangible.

What action can you take today to manifest your values in the world?

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Simeon ben Gamliel (I) (c. 10 BCE – 70 CE) was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He succeeded his father Gamliel I as the nasi of the Sanhedrin after his father’s death in 50 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple. According to Josephus Flavius he was killed by the Zealots during the civil war that accompanied the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 AD.

 

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Living Beauty Every Day

19 Saturday Mar 2016

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“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened.  Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading.  Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

-Rumi (translated by John Moyne and Coleman Barks)

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This quatrain of Rumi has resonated with me for over 20 years. How many mornings do we wake up with dread or worry, “empty and frightened” about the day ahead? Too often our inclination is to dive into work to keep the fears at bay. Rumi thinks this is a bad idea.

Rather than busy our selves immediately with tasks, emails, phone calls and spreadsheets, what if we started each day playing guitar, flute or piano, or singing a song, or just 15 minutes of standing near a tree or watching the sun climb in the sky? What is it we most love to do? How would our lives be different if we started each day with that?

What beauty can you love and bathe in today?

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Jalal ad-Din Muhammed Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufimystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions; people of all faiths and nations have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Love is ENOUGH

18 Friday Mar 2016

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You need power only when you want to do something harmful. Other wise, Love is enough to get everything done.

–Charles Chaplin

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Sudden torrents of water can create dramatic and disruptive change, but steady rain, groundwater and constant flow accomplish more over time with less harm. What, instead of always trying harder, we tried softer? What if love could accomplish our most important goals for connection, family, community? I think the good news is that it can.

Where can love flow in your life today, and to whom?

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Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona “the Tramp” and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.[1] His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

The Breath of Children Sustains The World

17 Thursday Mar 2016

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“The world exists only because of the breath of children. ”

-Resh Lakish (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b)

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The rabbis and scholars of the Talmud held children in extremely high regard, referring to them as “anointed ones” using the root word “mashiach”; from which we get the English word Messiah. They held that without a child’s untainted breath, learning and reciting sacred texts, the world could not exist.

In biology of course, this is totally true- without the breath of the next generation, life would die out. Species without children go extinct. And our modern term “sustainability” is meaningless without a next generation to inherit and inhabit the world.

Children literally are the future. That’s why most species and natural systems protect the young- to ensure that future. So not just on the spiritual plane, but the physical realm as well, the breath of children sustains it all.

Who are the children in your life today, and how can you support them in their future?

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Simeon ben Lakish, better known by his nickname Resh Lakish, was a scholar who lived in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina in the third century CE. He was reputedly born in Bosra, east of the Jordan River, in around 200 CE, but lived most of his life in Sepphoris. Nothing is known of his ancestry except his father’s name. He is something of an anomaly among the giants of Torah study as he was supposed to have been, in his early youth, a bandit and gladiator. He was regarded as one of the most prominent scholars of the his generation.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Living On The Knife Edge of Life

16 Wednesday Mar 2016

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“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.

I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on, I’ll be mad.”

-Rumi

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I have always had this ambitious goal of living to 110, like my namesake Joseph in the book of Genesis. Whether realistic or not, when I reached 55, I could no longer deny that I had hit middle age. Now less of my life stretched before me than behind me by any measure.

I began to reflect on how to live the second half of my life. I noticed that many people become  more risk averse as they get older; they are more careful not to sustain a financial loss, or fall lest they break a hip,  or take on new adventures. I decided to take more risks.

What do I have to lose? In the final  analysis, I’m dust anyway. As I grow older I have less to lose- on the last day of my life I could say and do whatever I want, no matter how outrageous.

I’m talking about righteous behavior, mind you. Speaking out against injustice, trying new things, living bold. Why not? What if elders engendered a little bit of awe and hushed respect because they are “beyond the f— it?”, and unpredictable? Gray Panthers Rise Up!

As Rumi alludes, at some point we grow beyond caring about small notions of safety, our reputations, our notoriety. Prudent planning is fine, but it only gets us so far. Sometimes, the craziness of living calls for little holy craziness on our part.

Where in your life do you need to take more risks?

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Jalal ad-Din Muhammed Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufimystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions; people of all faiths and nations have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

G!D Working Behind the Scenes

14 Monday Mar 2016

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“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

-Albert Einstein

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The old saw goes that G!D works in mysterious ways. Which is simply a way of saying that we really don’t know how G!D works in the world. It’s an article of faith that she even does.  But we do know that wonderful coincidences do happen, and it does seem often that there is Divine Purpose behind them.

Well, why not? We can walk around with the sense that life is meaningless, random and unaware. Or we can have a story that there is some ultimate reason, grand energy,  or resilient system underpinning everything, and even if we can’t see the whole, there is a dynamic cohesion that we are part of. I know which scenario floats my boat. Since we can’t prove it one way or the other, why not choose the richest story?

Where do you see the Divine Energy working your life today?

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Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. Einstein’s work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.Einstein is best known in popular culture for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his “services to theoretical physics”, in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Life Is What Happens

12 Saturday Mar 2016

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“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

-Allen Saunders

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Although most famously sung by John Lennon in “Beautiful Boy” on his Double Fantasy album with Yoko Ono, the Allen Saunders quote above from 1957 reflects an old Yiddish proverb, “We plan, G!D laughs!”

The map, no matter how precise, is never quite the territory. And every plan is outdated from the moment we take action- because once we take a single step, the vista changes. Events emerge, circumstances evolve, scenarios that we could never have imagined unfold. This is not a bad thing. For although we never have complete control of our destiny, we always have influence over it.

There’s wisdom in letting ourselves just go along for the ride. Not to give up hoping, dreaming, planning and striving to shape our lives. But realizing, that in the end, our life will be what it will be, with our input of course! We may as well enjoy it as it unfolds.

How can you enjoy your life’s unfolding today?

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Allen Saunders (April 24, 1899 – January 28, 1986) was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.