Reflections and Gashes and Hunger OH MY!

Day 243: If Parents Become Senile

It is a general cycle that when children are young, they are taken care of by their parents; but as parents grow older, they are taken care of by their children. Jewish law obligates children to take care of their parents until they are no longer able to provide adequate care.

One of my relatives made this her "golden rule" as her parents aged. They only wanted to stay in their house as long as possible, and she made that happen. Throughout sickness, surgery, and who knows what else, my cousin (with the help of a crew of caregivers) helped her parents stay in their home until their last days. It was beautiful to see her love for her parents, but it was also very obviously taxing on her. I have a lot of respect for the way she cared for her parents and I hope that one day I can emulate the same values towards my own parents.

Day 244: How to Learn Empathy

Yom Kippur is coming up. We're all familiar with fasting (or trying to cut back if we aren't medically allowed to fast), the hunger pains associated with it. When we feel these pains, we should be reminded that there are people in the world who are always feeling those pains. From our own pain, we should learn to open our hearts to those who need our help.

To feel empathy, we must have an understanding of what the other person is going through. That's what makes empathy different than sympathy, and even more necessary (in my own opinion).

Day 245: Shabbat

This week has been crazy. It's felt like 2 steps forward 1 step back ALL week. Homework and meetings and friends. And then on actual Shabbas, I gashed the top of my foot so today I took a trip to a clinic to make sure the infection that was there all weekend is now gone (it is [Baruch Hashem]).
May this week be calmer, productive, energizing, and rewarding.

• The Antidote to Arrogance: N/A
• Don't Pretend to Virtues You Don't Have: Still working on this. I want to emulate those people I see these virtues in but I'm not realizing how much work I'll have to do in order to become the person I want to be with the temperament I'd like to have. I'm happy with who I am but I'm very much willing and able to recognize what I can improve on. I'm trying to start with (1) patience and (2) not showing others how stressed I am. 
• "Love Your Neighbor": What Is the Neighbor's Responsibility: N/A
• "Honor Your Father and Mother": The Surprising Wording of the Biblical Commandment: N/A
• If Parents Become Senile: N/A
• How to Learn Empathy: This would be cool to incorporate into my classroom one day. Maybe not in a hands-on way but more in a "think about how you feel when you're hungry...tell me about it...what can we learn from this" kind of way.