So, in my next life...

"When faced with the choice of first healing ourselves or first healing the world, the answer is that we must do both simultaneously"
-Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan

As I have been studying more about religions that attract me, their interconnectedness is astounding. well, I am not what you would consider a "religious person" in any way.. But, in my constant quest for understanding, I've become very interested in Buddhism.. and as I have been learning, it has been surprising how much it relates to Judaism, to science, to psychology.. thus further supporting my way of life, where I try to learn as much as I can about a subject, incorporate what feels right and move on to the next one.. The other day I was reading an interview with a Buddhist monk, where he establishes the same principle... We do not function as individuals, we are part of a whole.. and this quote summarizes my current way of life at its best.. We can not reach a state of fulfillment if we only care for ourselves, we must care for the world at the same time..
Somehow, this view creates a bigger sense of purpose.. I am not here just for me, but for everything else.. I belong to the world, therefore I must care for it as much as I care for myself.. Little things, like eating organic local produce, make me feel better, because I am caring for my body and the environment in equal measure... In my job, I encounter situations everyday where people can chose to do the right thing for the world, thus also benefiting themselves, or they can chose to make those decisions from a selfish standpoint.. looking how they would benefit THEMSELVES, paying little attention to how this hurts their surroundings.. and it saddens me, in a way.. but it also empowers me, to try harder, to use the tools I have to educate them..

When I began developing my company, creating green education program ideas, developing an eco-friendly product from scratch.. people laughed at me.. saying things like, you are so smart, do you think you should invest your energy in something that will make you rich?? well, in the end, I am the one laughing.. even if I never make a dollar out of my projects, I am so so happy I got to do this.. because, in my world, every little thing we can do to help the environment, our communities, our neighbors, our enemies, counts.. if everyone just did a little, can yo imagine how powerful we could be??

However much time you invest in healing yourself, is pointless if you don't work on healing the world, because, seriously, how well can you sleep at night, when you know there are kids DYING everyday because of corrupt governments and bureaucracies?? For how long can yo meditate, when you have seen the pictures of dead soldiers, sick kids, desperate mothers??

So let's try to make our goal this month to, at least, think a bit about the current situation of the world.. about all the damage we have created.. about how we, while we take care of ourselves, can also heal the world..