When was the last time you just stopped?  When was the last time you looked around?  When was the last time you paused to take things in?  I love sitting on the sand of the beach and watching the waves.  Time seems to stop and I am completely in the moment.

This state is known as flow:

One of the proven paths to a happier, more joyful you is through gratitude. Acts of gratitude have been scientifically shown to improve ones overall quality of life (see the research done by Dr. Robert A. Emmons). Please enjoy this weeks Shavuah tov message from Rabbi Paul Kipnes and ReformJudaism.org, as he offers a type of resolution that is sure to make a difference.

Don’t Waste Time Making Resolutions - Instead, Count Blessings

By Rabbi Paul Kipnes, 1/2/19

These lines are all equal; but which one looks the biggest?

What our minds tell us and what we feel are often in conflict with each other.

Are right and wrong subjective or objective states?  What makes an act wrong versus justified? This is one of the questions that arises from the holiday of Hannukah. The Jews were living in Greek occupied Palestine.  At first life was good for the Jews. Then after a time they were forced to worship the Greek gods and make sacrifices to them. Unwilling to do this, a group of Jews, lead by the Maccabees, revolted.

I am currently taking an online course called the Science of Happiness.

This is the Article from ABC 13 By Christi Myers:

Americans actually report being among the most unhappy people in the world. Anti-depressant usage has increased 400 percent since 1994. So why are so many people may be unhappy, and what you can do to change that?

Lorraine Robertson is lucky.

"I wake up happy," Robertson said.

This week was a full one and I thought we could all use a good smile.  Here is an article from 1909 (translated from Yiddish) called “The Fundamentals of the Base-Ball ‘Game’ Described for Non-Sports Fans”.  Enjoy:

The murders that occurred on Saturday were a miscarriage of free will. There is nothing redeemable about using our free will to destroy. Fortunately, for us, God has created a world that can withstand our misuse of free will. While the world might be able to withstand these acts of free will, can we?

One day I was speaking to a young man who wanted to be a professional ball player. I was encouraging of his dream and truly hoped he would make his dream come true. I also said to him that even if he did not become a ball player he would make a great coach one day. I encouraged him to broaden his definition of success, to change what winning would look like.

John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins said:

On the weekend of October 19^th we will be blessed to be lead in song and worship by Rabbi Deborah Zecher (https://deborahzecher.com/) as she joins us at Temple Beth David to be our Artist in Residence.  Please sign up now to take part in this amazing weekend.

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