Reflections & wishes heading into the (Jewish) New Year - 5784

The Jewish High Holidays, starting with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) begins tomorrow night. It is a celebration of a new year and it also begins a time of reflection, contemplation, connecting with loved ones and asking for and offering forgiveness for any wrongs we may have done, even inadvertently in the past 12 months. For me it is also a time of counting my blessings, thinking about a new start for the coming 12 months and what I want to accomplish and experience during that time in all aspects of my life.

This year, I decided to take time last week and head to one of my favorite places to refresh my soul, the shoreline at Cape Elizabeth, Maine - a solo trip where I could unplug, let my creative juices flow, and attempt to rekindle and re-energize the part of me that errs on the side of optimism and positivity generally speaking. The past year has been particularly tough with the unexpected loss of my Dad, and some of the usual spring in my step has felt muted lately. It was my goal to come back refreshed, excited about the year and with some specific tasks in mind to set out to accomplish as the new year begins. In my head, the time to myself - as a natural introvert - would help me process, be inspired and re-energize and be ready for action. That happened thankfully, but even more inspiring than my solo time was the interactions I had with a couple of people along the way.

Let me share a little about that:

1. Meet Carol (left photo) - Carol and I met as we found ourselves at a hole-in-the-wall favorite restaurant for us both (The Lobster Shack, Cape Elizabeth, Maine) waiting for our lobster rolls next to one another, each of us planning to eat our lunches alone. We both reached for napkins at the same time and she took it upon herself to ask me to join her for lunch. You may not be able to see this through her sunglasses in the photo, but Carol has the kindest eyes and a warmth about her that is contagious. I was channeling my late Dad who never met a stranger in his life when I readily agreed to sit with her that day. You might think that she and I had very little in common - she is a rural Maine local - "born and bred", as she put it, in her 70's, a widow who lost her husband of 50+ years a couple of years ago after a long illness where she was his primary caregiver - a retiree who now spends most of her time working with rescue animals to train them to be ready for adoption. In many ways I cannot relate to many of those things - but it was one of the most enjoyable lunch conversations I have ever had. This stranger and I bonded over so many things - our love of nature, our interest in learning new things, our relatively recent experiences with grief, our belief in a higher power, our love of the incredible people in our lives and yes, even our optimism of what's ahead for us in the next year and beyond. She reminded me that warmth, kindness, heart, beauty and good is all around us and we need just to look for it to see it! THANK YOU Carol!
2. Meet Sue (right photo) - not at all a stranger, but my dear cousin (My Dad's first cousin) who I have known my entire life. Sue and her hubby now live in Maine and given that it had been at least 5+ years since I had last seen her in person, she was kind enough to drive the 2 hours each way to come spend time with me while I was nearby! While I always enjoy interacting with her, this time was particularly special. Spending concentrated 1 on 1 time with a family member who typically I see at larger family gatherings - but this time I really got to catch up and connect with her - just the two of us, and hear about all the exciting projects she is working on. Oh and let me tell you, she is a TRUE renaissance woman - an expert in her field, an artist, a book worm, a deep thinker, a social butterfly, and so much more! She reminded me that my family is a big part of my heart for a good reason - they are such a part of why I am who I am, why I admire the things and people I admire, why my value system is what it is, and why I feel SO incredibly fortunate to be a Lovenheim AND a Yampolski AND a Levine AND a Gordon (and all the surnames that went before those in my family tree)! Sue also reminded me that focus is wonderful - particularly professionally - but not to the exclusion of other interests that feed the soul and the heart and especially not to the exclusion of those that spark learning and expansion of my horizons. THANK YOU cousin Sue!!!

As we head into the coming year, I wish everyone the inspiration, the optimism, the creativity, the adventure and the reflection that drives health, joy and success in whatever directions feed your soul, your mind, your body, your family and your spirit!!

L'shanah tova (Happy New Year) All!!