This poem was written by Margaret Jang


Conquering Doubt and Fear


At times, you may just give up and drown out your sorrow,
forgetting your goal to build a better tomorrow.
What causes you to throw your arms up the air,
and fall into misery or feelings of despair?


What can you do to conquer your doubt and fear?
Well, first take stock and look right in the mirror.
This will show the truth of what you're searching for,
a giant step to change your life forever more.


Conquering doubt and fear is not an easy task,
there are many, many questions you may want to ask.
And positive curiosity is healthy, plus good,
it sparks a keen interest, as it really should.


Conquering doubt and fear takes tremendous strength,
but it's well worth your effort by any arms length.
For courage is not gained in a day or night,
it builds very slowly through greater insight.


So often you forget the important part of self,
losing your identity is usually what is felt.
Becoming so entwined with the opinion of another,
and so afraid to speak, you just hide for cover.


To conquer doubt and fear, know your "self" well,
listen to your heart; your body's but a shell.
Wisdom and truth are gifts with which you're blessed,
honesty is a virtue that needs to be addressed.


For if you can't be true to the integrity of your soul,
conquering doubt and fear is something you won't know.
So move from the shadows and step within the light,
cast your doubt and fear in the darkness of the night.


Feel your pain or sorrow turn into joyful love,
turn away from doubting; just trust in greater love.
And the spirit of your soul will smile in peaceful calm,
'cause conquering doubt and fear, is a healing balm.

I dont generally have the opportunity to read this thread daily.

When I do get to it,
I first prepare a cup of herbal tea
get comfortable,
and treat myself to readings
from the widest variety of sources.
Somehow, each one manages to touch me on some level.

And this is how, and where, 7 Up replenishing her neshama.
Thank you YECHIDA

.............and now you can cuddle up with the new einekel too!!

imtrying25 wrote on 01 Feb 2010 21:36:


BH! Isnt life great?
Thank you Tatty!

7Up wrote on 02 Feb 2010 11:52:
As great as we make it, Mom!

Some quotes I saw 

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage

My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.

The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself.

What I cannot love, I overlook. Is that real friendship?

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

yechida wrote on 01 Feb 2010 17:50:


Beautiful...incredibly deep. Such a different outlook than what we have.

I just heard the same story from my rabbi about the chofetz chayim l"h and a pair of fur-lined gloves...are they both authentic?

who knows, dov?

we know this behavior surely fits the description of the Chofetz Chaim

It always bothered me.

I don't know much about Ghandi,for I never read much about him, but I studied personalities like the current Dalei Lama and Mother Theresa and it seems that the descriptions of thier refined character are not false and are actually authentic.

and whatever the debate is among the Rishonim as to whether christianity is or isn't actual "avodah zorah" to non-jews,Buddism definitely is.

I wonder what God really feels about those 2 individuals.

I read that the Dalei Lama actually send some Jews back to thier faith.He told them that there is alot of richness and depth in your own culture and it is your duty to study and examine what you have.

Does God love them or hate them?

The easy way is to just say that they were/are  all full of baloney and God sees through all the garbage.

But something tells me this is not the right answer.

It is certainly not on my  "10 top questions to ask Moshiach"

But I sure am curious

When I first read this poem it struck me

the author may have not had this in mind

but this woman is Knesses Yisroel

And the subway train is our travel through this very long and bitter galus

as dark as it seems

"There was wanting in her to see anew"



Subway Train

She had acne marks on her cheeks.
She was no more than twenty years.
Her beauty was not such that weeks
And years and all the stars were shed.
Her beauty did not scream aloud.
It was like a cocoon that faintly glowed.
It did, though, melt away the crowd.
When at last she removed her hood,
It felt as though a sun slipped
Away, leaving waves and waves of hushed wood.
Here was quiet dignity not of birds:
She had a secret sorrow; she wasn't pure,
But she knew what it meant to endure.
Her eyes were abducted by a cloud.
There was elegance and depth to them,
And generosity, and they were proud.
She seemed a concentration of humankind:
No self-understanding was, no discipline;
She escaped from herself, as most do.
Yet like the frozen river the train passed,
There was wanting in her to see anew.

Yacov Mitchenko

I really love you, Yechida. Thanks again.
My only hope for you right now is to always be aware of Hashem's love for you without getting intoxicated on it. Though I guess it's safe for us to get intoxicated on our love for Hashem, all day long. L'chayim!

thank you dov

I know we certainly have much less struggles if we would feel how much Hashem really loves us.

part of the challenge is that we often or never really feel it.

the love is there.

it always was , always will be.

we must learn to reveal that which is hidden within us ,because that love of Hashem is there.

but sometime we lose ourselves.

and we forget how to look.

or where.

that is part of our test

At Least They Were Right  by Jason Westlake

A lady knew she had the right-of-way
She’s dead now, but at least she was right

A man knew the whole world couldn’t be trusted
He died alone, but at least he was right

A couple divorced due to irreconcilable differences
Neither can love again, but at least they were right

A man knew he would die if he ever took a risk
His life was empty, but at least he was right

A woman knew she was stuck in a dead-end job
Miserable she was, but at least she was right

The Europeans knew the world was flat
Never discovering America, but at least they were right

An old man thought investing was too risky
He died with no money, but at least he was right

A young man knew his dreams were unattainable
He lived with regret, but at least he was right

I’m thankful I don’t know as much as the masses
And that I have been mistaken most of the time

For if I know everything, I can’t know any more
If I’m always right, I can’t learn anything new

Why would I ever use my own life
To prove I am right, when I just might be wrong?

Introspection

If everyday of your life was cloudy,
How would you ever know there was a blue sky above?
If your busy everyday life keeps you from looking inside,
How would you ever really know there was a YOU?

Don Winslow

Important concept for Ahavas Yisroel

for the many you see in passing,but whom you do not know personally

there is that connection to the pain of Kllal Yisroel

no distance of any kind changes this


Faces


(humanity shares a lot in its universal pain)

People that I meet and pass
In the city's broken roar,
Faces that I lose so soon
And have never found before,

Do you know how much you tell
In the meeting of our eyes,
How ashamed I am, and sad
To have pierced your poor disguise?

Secrets rushing without sound
Crying from your hiding places --
Let me go, I cannot bear
The sorrow of the passing faces.

-- People in the restless street,
Can it be, oh can it be
In the meeting of our eyes
That you know as much of me?

Sarah Teasdale