Money Matters

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

Saint Basil 

We all have heard that money can't buy happiness.

While this is true, it can absolutely buy misery.

The best way to ruin a friendship is over money matters.

Over the years, I have seen relationships between business partners ruined over money.

I have seen families torn apart over money matters.

I have watched friendships disintegrate over money.

Nothing builds walls between people faster than money.

It's an awful truth.

As for myself, I know the quickest way to get under my skin is when you screw with my money.

Even though I am aware of this, I can't help but to get lit up anytime anyone screws with my finances.

I go ballistic at the mere mention of an issue.

I also stress out beyond belief when I know I have to have one of those uncomfortable money conversations.

It is most certainly the root of all that is evil in my world.

Knowing all of this does not change the fact that to this very day, I end up getting so disappointed when people react and behave poorly over money matters.

It's very sad.

In the end, it's only money.

We all still have our health, our family, our loved ones, our friends and colleagues.

Do a few shekels really mean that much?

I swear, I know people who have been more forgiving over infidelities' and marital indiscretions than they are over finances.

It's a sickness.

Unfortunately, I don't think Pfizer or Moderna or J& J are working on a vaccine for tis pandemic!

Shavua Tov!

8 Letters

 

Lately I have noticed that people have forgotten how to use the words "thank you".

8 letters should not be that hard to string together.

As a result of this, I personally have become more diligent in making sure that I remember this catchy little phrase.

Thank you!

2 words.

8 letters.

Pretty simple.

Others appreciate it when you say it and it costs you nothing.

How great is that!

I really don't understand how saying this simple acknowledgement of gratitude has fallen out of grace.

It's almost as if people have taken others for granted.

Or maybe we all just think that we just deserve things , therefore saying thank you is not necessary.

I for one, think it's kind of rude.

I also know that when I use these 8 letters, I feel better about myself.

I know it can become cumbersome.

I say thank you and then you feel obliged to say your welcome and then I have to say no really thanks a lot and you have to respond with no really it was nothing and then it gets all kinds of awkward.

No it doesn't!

It should be as natural and easy as breathing.

This is the time of year, as I find myself on the eve of Yom Kippur, where I would normally ask for your forgiveness for any wrong I may have knowingly or unwittingly committed towards you.

This year, I would like to add a great big thank you to that request.

Thank you for being my friend.

Thank you for all that you have or may have done for me.

Thank you for being part of my world.

Thank you.

g'mar chatima tova

May you be sealed in the Book of Life!

Blessings

“Our lives are defined not by the challenges we encounter, but by how we respond to those challenges.”

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

 My Rabbi left me a voice mail the other day saying "when I don't see you writing I know you must be really busy".

He's 100% correct!

On those days when I hit the ground running, I feel as if it is frivolous of me to carve out the quiet mental space I need to take a few minutes to write.

It is always a tough choice.

However, when I know that there are mountains for me to climb, it is all but impossible to take the time to just enjoy the view.

It's a difficult balance that I should probably pay more attention to.

Paying attention.

Another recurring theme lately!

I received a congratulatory email from a dear friend from High School on the Grand Opening Event for The Petcare Market.

He mentioned that we will catch up on some other "stuff" down the road as well, however, he closed his note to me with "...., I know we are both quite grateful for much."

Again, another reminder for me to pay attention.

Yesterday's event was by all measures a great success. It was well attended, we made some money and raised a bunch of cash for the rescue that the adoption event was supporting.

Still, instead of acknowledging the blessings of the day. I found myself focusing on things that one might deem as negatives.

Negative, frustrating and depressing things.

Thankfully, it was Barry to the rescue once again, to remind me to count the blessings.

While we don't communicate often, he some how seems to appear at just the right moments.

He is one of those blessings I should be so grateful for.

One of many that fill my life!

Different & Difficult

  "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

Helen Keller

Rosh Hashana has come and gone.

This year, the holiday was both different and difficult for me.

The different part was not attending services of any kind.

Unlike last year, not attending services was my choice, not something that was foisted upon me by silly restrictions.

My choice was a direct by-product of those silly restrictions from last year.

The shutdown of 2020 afforded me the space and opportunity to ask myself why.

Why do I attend services?

Why do I put myself through this?

Why do I even bother?

Unlike the the lyrics of the song, I am not dealing with " you don't know what you've lost til it's gone".

I am not feeling any significant loss around this what so ever.

The difficult part was walking away from and shutting down the business.

Like caring for an infant, this new endeavor needs a lot of constant attention.

It is to new to be able to just be on it's own.

For lack of a better analogy, it has barely begun to crawl.

Standing on it's own two feet is just not part of the program yet.

Losing two days to Hurricane Henri and then two more to Hurricane Ida, certainly has not helped either.

We are just not mature enough as an entity to be able to just absorb shutting down for six or seven days in less than a month.

Not to mention the shutdown we had due to a collapsed main drain.

It's been difficult.

Difficult and frustrating.

My frustration comes from feeling a bit helpless in avoiding these stumbling blocks.

Tow steps forward , one step back has started to feel a bit like one step forward two steps back and that to me is very frustrating!

Sunday is our Grand Opening Adoption Event.

My hopes are that it will serve as the priming of the pump here.

I truly believe that once we get a flow, we are well prepared to keep it going.

The phone just rang....our Valpack advertising just hit!

That's a good thing.....one step forward.

Of course, we do have another shutdown this week for Yom Kippur,(one step back?).

Maybe not.

Maybe it can be that day of reflection and contemplation.

Maybe it can serve as a time for remembering how grateful I am for what I have, what we have accomplished and all of the blessings that are yet to come our way.

Now that would be different!

A sweet, healthy and happy new year

“There is only one time that is important - NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time that we have any power.”

Leo Tolstoy

 And now the holiday is here.

I'm speaking of Rosh Hashana, not Labor Day.

As disconnected as I may feel from the way I have experienced the High Holiday season in the past, the one omni present message that keeps coming up is my wish for all of my friends, family colleagues and acquaintances for a sweet healthy and happy new year.

I couldn't ask for anything else.

Each time I type this into an email or text, I feel better.

It's like some magical incantation.

the more I say it, the more I connect to it.

A sweet healthy and happy year.

What more do we need in life?

שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה

"shanah tovah u'metukah"

Sad to say

“Only when life is difficult, are we challenged to become our greatest selves.”

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

 Tomorrow evening our family will gather together for dinner to celebrate Rosh Hashana and the start of the High Holidays as we do every year.

Every year except one over almost 3 decades.

Sadly, I find myself entering the holiday season this year with absolute ambivalence.

The connection to the significance of the High Holiday season has completely eluded me this year.

After the break created by last year's restrictions, I find no reason to return to the way it always used to be.

I know longer have the same connection to the community I once felt so committed to maintaining.

I never was "devout" when it came to prayer.

My family certainly doesn't have any connection to the holidays other than what I create or bring to the table.

The "stuff" that should well up inside of me , that in the past has welled up inside of me, just isn't there.

I am neither mindful of or thoughtful towards the significance of the season.

Nor am I like Scrooge at Christmas time.

I am not expecting visits from spirits of High Holidays past.

The profound has been completely erased by the mundane.

It is sad to say.

It diminishes who I am.

It diminishes the quality of my life.

Yet, I don't even care to change that.

Like a loveless relationship, I feel no need to go through the motions.

It's a sad thing.

Lord only knows how many(or few) Yom Tovim I have left in my life.

It seems very sad t be feeling as disconnected from them as I do.

I can't imagine that I will suddenly experience some sort of epiphany .

It kind of just is what it is.

And what it is is just very sad.

Still , I want to wish you all:

“Shanah tovah um’tukah”-“Have a good and sweet year.”

and

“Tizku l’shanim rabot”-“May you see many more years.”

Shavua Tov!

Seed, Soil & Sunhine

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”

Anthony J. D'Angelo

 To say that things have gone slightly less than smoothly lately would not be an understatement by any stretch of the imagination.

Getting on a roll just doesn't seem to be happening.

Two steps forward, one step back seems to be the rule of thumb since we opened the shop.

The bright side of this is that it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back, not one step forward and 2 steps back!

No matter what happens, life is moving in the right direction.

This is not to say that each time I hit a bump in the road, I don't feel as if I just got smacked again.

However, none of them are gut punches that render me immobile.

When you climb into the ring, expect to get hit!

In the end, I always come back to being a farmer.

Farming is simple (not easy!).

Seed, soil and sunshine.

It's a simple formula.

Then water and wait.

I truly believe we have put in the prep work needed to pave the way towards being a success.

Time will tell.

Time and a good healthy helping of positivity!

Shabbat Shalom!