REFLECTIONS ON 2020 - HOPES FOR 2021 - December 21, 2020

I asked these questions of Facebook friends a couple of days ago. 

This is my distillation of their meaningful crowdsourced responses that can apply to all of us.  

In 2020, we are grateful for: 

*Making celebrations and milestones special within our family and homes 

*Completing new projects and presenting them to the world 

*Medical procedures that offered healing and a new lease on life 

*Finding renewed partnership at home 

*Seeing family members know security and grow in significant ways

*Effective support for personal care

*Landmark events celebrated and developing new creativity using modern technology

*Participating in enriching personal and group study. 

*Relearning how to teach students in effective ways and finding strength in that progress

*Connecting across state lines and shorter commute times

*Entering a new fulfilling position that opens so many new doors and opportunities 

*Making new friends in the midst of this challenging time 

*Discovering new sources of internal resilience

*New turns in careers, necessitated by the pandemic, that resulted in positive changes 

In 2021, we are hoping for:

*More small gatherings as the vaccine becomes more readily available.

*Progress on many levels that are the result of new national leadership

*Seeing children and grandchildren in person 

*Hugging the grandchildren 

*A stable and improving economy

*Substantial improvement in personal health and going out into the community again

*Health and spending time with family and friends in person 

*More connection and more travel 

*Never taking anything for granted again

*Being with community in synagogue/houses of worship and going out to dinner with friends and family

*Working and worshipping in person and seeing family again

*An ability to sustain hope 

*Ever-increasing resilience 

On my completion of six months of retirement,  I am grateful for: 

*Peaceful time at home with Rhonda! 

*A chance to review (and downsize) accumulated files and mementos (we are not done!) 

*FaceTime conversations with family and friends (including singing to the grandchildren!)

*Maintaining connections via email and social media with family members, friends and colleagues. 

*Temple Beth-El study groups which I lead and in which we engage in poignant discussions 

*An Interfaith Study Group that meets every Friday, featuring conversation on timely subjects based on the books we read. 

*The West Coast Sing-Along group, that presents Havdalah and songs based on a chosen theme on Zoom on the fourth Saturday of each month (join us)!

*NewCAJE in July and early August, and co-organizing the weekly Kumsitz for the conference! 

*Study sessions under the auspices the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis, Central Conference of American Rabbis, American Jewish University, Hava Nashira, Shabbat Shira, The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center (NYC), Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and other groups.  

*Working with my Bat Mitzvah students. 

*Sharing music and continued songwriting. 

*The opportunity to write a monthly column for the Las Cruces Bulletin, which enables me to reflect on our current challenges and hopes.   

*Photographing sunsets on my own schedule! 

Hopes for 2021 include a continuation of all of the above, receiving doses of the vaccine, being able to enjoy in-person time with family members, rejoining community in a common space, and being able to make our move to the midwest once the pandemic subsides.  

Sending prayers for all families who are mourning loved ones who died of COVID-19, and for marshaling our combined strength to move forward in 2021 with strength, positivity and optimism!

December 31, 2020 Sunset in Las Cruces 

“As the Stars Align, So Also Can Humanity” - Column - Las Cruces Bulletin - January 1, 2021.

 The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was a wondrous event.   This celestial phenomenon was visible to anyone who was willing to gaze, even if just for a moment, towards the western sky.

     On December 21, when the two planets appeared to be “touching” in the sky, I recited a blessing from my tradition, praising “the One who makes the works of creation.”

    As I posted my Jupiter-Saturn photos on Facebook over the course of several days, some of my friends living in cities with cloudy skies were very grateful to see images of this amazing sight.

    This marvel offered a brief diversion from the earthly concerns that have arisen in 2020 and will continue into the new year.  We still face uncertainties about the coronavirus, as we hope that COVID-19 vaccines will bring us greater protection and widespread healing.  

   Our commemoration of incredible events in the sky should remind us to join together mark the lives of the victims of COVID-19 in a meaningful way.  We should thank front-line workers of all types and show appreciation to medical personnel, who have risked, at least, their health, if not their lives, to fulfill their tasks at a challenging time.

   The worldwide cooperation among scientists/medical experts that created the coronavirus vaccines in record time demonstrates what we human beings can accomplish when we share a common mission and purpose.  

   We do, most certainly, have it in us to overcome even profound ideological differences enough to engage in coordinated action to sustain our mutual well-being.

   There is a parable that has found its way into a number of cultures that offers a poignant perspective on consideration and cooperation.  

     One version was told by Rabbi Haim of Romshishok.  

     He dreamed that he was taken to a room with a large banquet table with the best foods imaginable.  The people sitting at the table each held a two-foot long spoon, but no one was eating.  Their arms were attached to wooden splints so that they could not bend their elbows, and, even then, the spoons were too long for them to be able to place food in their own mouths.  

     He was then taken to another room with a large banquet table, filled with similar delicacies. Each person held a two-foot long spoon. Their arms were attached to wooden splints so that they could not bend their elbows. Yet, in this room. the people were eating their fill. They had figured out that they could enjoy all that food if they fed the person across the table.  

     Rabbi Haim saw their solution. He ran back to the other room and told one of the still-hungry people sitting at the large table what they should do. The person replied, “It would better for me to see and crave the food on the table than to see these other people sitting with me, whom I despise, end their hunger because I helped them.”  

    Upon hearing that response, Rabbi Haim screamed.  Then, he woke up from his dream.  

   This chilling tale teaches us that the best way to live with others is to empathize with them, and to help, without bias or limitations, whenever our assistance is needed.

    After all, we are, in truth, from one year to another, sitting at the same table.

A Reflection - December 26, 2020

We see

Desolation

Not only from sudden terrorist acts 

In our midst

But from the demolition 

Of governmental processes 

However flawed

Based on the whim of one

Who refuses to participate and lead.

We have witnessed

Lies become incontrovertible truth

In the minds of some 

Who accuse those 

Who hold onto an old-fashioned

And tried and true approach to facts

As simply being brainwashed...

Some who decry those who would take precautions

Due to a raging pandemic

As perpetrating a negative campaign

Against their chosen leader

Rather than expressing 

Compassion and empathy

In an ongoing way 

to the family members

Of those who have tragically died

And those individuals facing long-term effects

Of unexpected infection. 

One prophet said:

Speak the truth, one to another 

Make your judgments in your communities

based on peace and honesty

For those whom you know

And those whom you do not know. 

Where is our truth?  Where is our justice? 

Where is our peace? 

Where is our support and concern

For those affected by loss of work and income

Loss of in-person family connection 

Loss of the possibility of providing

Food, clothing and shelter

For their families

As we live in a country that has not discovered

How to allow for governmental processes 

To offer assistance with a sense

Equal consideration for every person

No matter what his or her station in life might be? 

It is time to build up 

Not to break down. 

It is time to stand up 

For one another.

The prophet said that God can be with us

But only if we pursue

Truth 

Love

Justice

And peace.   

May we journey together 

To enliven those principles once again

And find godliness among us.

A Late December 2020 Prayer

We pray for peace

Compassion 

Connection 

Healing 

Help 

Resilience

Remembrance 

Support

Trust

And 

Hope 

To light up the darkness.

Holding on to common sense - December 23, 2020

More lies from the incumbent about the election.  Conspiracy theorists that he has encouraged and energized are all around him. Hatred is spewed forth against his long-time allies.   Common sense is out the door.  A call for more relief for people may be appropriate, but one can only look at his motives with suspicion.   This is December, 2020.  How did we get here?  

   Some of us did question his election, but not the voting machines or the voting results. We questioned the pervasive presence of obvious trolls keeping people away from the polls in 2016, with some sources likely foreign.   We questioned the character of this individual, who, now, as the lame duck incumbent, is doing exactly what we expected.  That is why faithless electors in 2016 would have been welcome.  We knew, however, that hope was vain.   

    Now, REPUBLICAN election officials swearing up and down and sideways that there was NO FRAUD is not even good for...Republicans.  The incumbent with an adolescent mindset is leading his followers in mass wishful thinking rather than facing reality.  

   You all can say that those who didn’t support the incumbent were fraudulent because they didn’t vote for the incumbent.   That is what some of you seem to be saying.  If that’s the only reason, then it’s no reason.   It’s a claim of fraud that is a wisp in the wind.  

    And for people to say that the election results must be overturned because, otherwise, there will be widespread violence...well, that’s blackmail.   At the very least.  

    My controlled rant is now over.  

   I will stop typing now, and put forth my silent scream.

Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction and our current national moment - December 19, 2020

To anyone who feels that they are more powerful than anyone else: 

Here are Jupiter and Saturn.   They are much bigger and older than you are.   They embody some of the secrets of creation and how we came to be here.   Their presence reminds us of our smallness, but also of our greatness, in that we, as humans beings, can look up at them, know what they are (that they are planets and not stars, and which planets they are), gaze at them for a few moments, take photographs of them, look through telescopes at them, and say “Wow.”  

   For those who are thinking only about power, when seeing this sight, the word “wow” may not come across their lips. 

   As for me, as I see other people posting photos of this scene, I am grateful for my partners in the mode of “wow.”

Letter to Editor - Topeka Capital-Journal - December 21, 2020 - In response to a column by Pastor Adrienne Greene

Members (former and current) of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka alerted one another, and me, of a column by Adrienne Greene about the difference between Christmas and Chanukah.   I posted the link below.  It’s pretty horrible. HER COLUMN is below my response. 

    Rabbi Moti Rieber, current rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom, created an op-ed that specifically and thoroughly covered the issues raised (and inaccuracies contained) in her column.   

 I wrote this letter to the editor on December 12, and it appeared in the paper, I believe, today.    I decided not to address everything in the article as a former rabbi of the community.   I focused on her supposed intentions and the resulting tone.   Comments to the Capital Journal from community members have led the paper to stop carrying Greene’s column.  

*******************

HERE IS MY LETTER

Pastor's Greene got much wrong about Hanukkah

By Rabbi Larry Karol

Pastor Adrienne Greene states on her website that, “I am a CEO in a global organization that assists people in finding their spiritual alignment. ... I am a Christian, not a religious person. ... I put no limits on the Holy Spirit: His miracles. His signs. His wonders.”

It is obvious that Pastor Greene’s idea of spiritual alignment is following her specific approach to Christianity.

The “Holy Spirit” concept originates in Judaism, denoting an enduring divine presence.. The Hebrew word for spirit, “ruach,” is a feminine noun.

One might expect that someone promoting spirituality and unlimited holiness would positively approach the beliefs and practices of many faiths.

Pastor Greene’s Dec. 12 column in the Topeka Capital-Journal on the differences between Christmas and Hanukkah offered a condescending and negative view of Jews and Judaism.

She revealed such an attitude with the phrase, “sadly, our Jewish brothers and sisters ...,” when speaking about the observances of a joyous Jewish holiday.

Her claim about the branches on “commercial menorahs” numbering nine instead of seven is inaccurate. It misses the point that a helper candle in the middle branch of a Hanukkiah, a Hanukkah menorah, is used to light other candles, which increase on each successive night from one to eight, marking the eight days of the holiday.

Members and rabbis of Topeka’s Temple Beth Sholom have tirelessly worked to promote interfaith understanding over the years.

Nothing, especially words from a columnist from outside the community, should ever undo those efforts towards education and partnership.

Rabbi Larry Karol, Las Cruces, N.M. (formerly of Topeka)

*****************************

HERE WAS THE ARTICLE TO WHICH I RESPONDED. 

Ask Pastor Adrienne: Christmas or Hanukkah: What's the difference?

Adrienne GreeneMore Content Now

Pastor Adrienne Greene

Dear Pastor,

My Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah while we're celebrating Christmas each year. What's the difference?

A: The difference is vast: Hanukkah is a lesser Jewish holiday regarding Jerusalem's Jewish Temple rededication, and Christmas is the high-holiday of the Christian Church which marks the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Hanukkah festivities spread over eight consecutive days; Christmas is one glorious day.

Sadly, our Jewish brothers and sisters, whose religious root system we share, are not believers in Christ as the Son of God. They honor his Jewish heritage and acknowledge his prophetic gifting ... considering him a remarkable Rabbi and teacher ... but stop short of calling him "savior." Thankfully not all Jews today maintain the ancient separation. Many have received Christ's free gift of salvation as Christians do. These special people are labeled "Messianic Jews."

The moment in history when Jews diverted their religious beliefs from those of the Christ-followers was well documented by the disciple Matthew. Here is the discussion that ensued among the Jewish leaders when it was reported to them that the tomb of Christ was found empty: "And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, 'You are to say, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and keep you out of trouble.' And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews and is to this day" (Matthew 28:12-15, NASB).

    Lies were instantly circulated by the Rabbis and their hired rumor-mills that Jesus did not rise from the dead as he prophesied, but instead, his corpse was stolen and never recovered. Great pains were then taken by the Jewish rulers, I'm sure, to prevent their temple congregants from spotting Christ as he traveled among the living for forty days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3).

    Christmas is about the light of the world (Jesus). Hanukkah is about light. Specifically, it is about the Jewish lampstand whose blueprint, design and operation were dictated by God to Moses, beginning in Exodus chapter 25. We call this special lamp the "menorah," made up of three unified branches on each side of a taller, central candle. Today, the commercial menorahs sold in stores include nine candlesticks due to strict religious laws that prohibit the seven-armed lampstand from being seen or burned outside the confines of a synagogue.

   In addition to Hanukkah marking the rededication of the Jerusalem temple around the second century B.C., the holiday also commemorates a miracle that took place, according to the Talmud: Rome had unlawfully turned Jerusalem's holy place into a pagan temple, so the Maccabees (Jewish warriors) fought and won back their sacred building. But during the siege, there was lamp oil enough to sustain the menorah for only one day - but it lasted for eight. Hanukkah feasts and gift-giving now commence and sustain for eight candle-lit days in homage to the miracle.

    I love the fact that Hanukkah and Christmas coincide each year; that Jews and Gentiles worship in parallel. We do, after all, share the most important part of both festivities: The Jewish heritage of Jesus Christ.

A December 2020/Kislev 5781 Prayer of Resolve

Eternal One, 

Wellspring of wisdom, 

Spirit that enables us to shape our words into speech

Inscriber on tablets as we emboss our deeds

In the book of our lives, 

Lead us to express ourselves in heartfelt tones

As we face these challenging days. 

Turn our conversations to sharing the meaning of our lives 

Convert our sadness and empathy into declarations of comfort

And touching remembrance. 

Support us in our striving to bridge the gaps that separate us

Bring us close, though we may be far away

Bind us together, though our we may feel distant from each other

Though we may speak different languages 

May we discover ways to arrive at a common destination 

Our souls united in caring and hope 

Our hands reaching out in love

Our hearts expanding to engulf one another 

As a single human family

Dedicated to the salvation of our brothers and sisters

Through consideration, honesty and respect

So that healing will pervade our world 

And we will emerge

From this time 

Knowing that we need one another

To make possible our very survival

More 

Than ever before.

Facebook thoughts on the post-election saga - November/December 2020

November 17, 2020

In case people who see themselves as Bible believers support this firing, I have a few verses for them to read from their scripture (it’s mine, too - bet they can’t chant it in Hebrew - from Parashat Mishpatim).   

  They probably think this applies to people who agree with me.  Well, just trying to beat them to the punch in quoting chapter and verse(s). 

    I applaud this responsible person, yet another one who has been fired, who tried to stem the tide of rumors coming from the administration. 

Exodus Chapter 23 

1 You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: 2 You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty....

7 Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. 8 Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clear-sighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right. 9 You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-politics-elections-2481250f4e823dfb2a63d80569495c5c?fbclid=IwAR2qb4Ej2H8FhfpaYmoNKDTQDU6wglmoDDkmcFi1_i7I0KLqfqwXCa48_l8

November 18, 2020

438 new cases of COVID-19 in Dona Ana County, NM.  Wow.  We are wearing our masks, staying home, and, if we do go out for essentials, it will be a very quick trip! 

   It ENRAGES me to hear about health officials and health care workers who are receiving death threats for doing their jobs and trying to keep people safe, patients in ICUs who are dying of COVID-19 who don’t believe it because “it is a hoax” (so sorry to hear of their illness and deaths), and the adminsitration’s press secretary saying that some measures intended to keep case numbers down are Orwellian.   

   If you believe in God, what would you do if God told you to follow these measures?

   Well, God already did that.   

   “Choose Life.”  

   Let’s do our best.  

   Condolences to the families of the 250,000-plus Americans who have died during this pandemic. 

    Wishing strength and wisdom for our health care workers. 

    Hoping for insight on the part of legislators to be able to provide people with the proper financial support and assistance to get through this challenge.

November 19, 2020

All of you lawyers, along with most of one party, trying to undermine one of the most secure elections ever (which is so because everyone was watching and being extra careful): go ahead, do your thing, and if you/your party win based on your alternate reality constructed for the benefit of your leader, REAL REALITY is going to come back and hit you right in the face - and, maybe, a few other places, too.   I am concerned for what will happen to the citizens of our country, but, you don’t seem to care about that.  Just know we haven’t believed you much before —not for lack of trying — but we most certainly will never believe you again.  You may think you don’t need the affirmation of someone like me and people who believe like me.  You are mistaken.  We will make sure that your history of falling in line in this campaign of sabotage will be recorded for decades to come, and beyond.

November 24, 2020

As some people are trying to build up, attempting to find a variety of partners in their efforts, others, following a force that has overtaken their perspective, seem to want want to try to burn down at least part of the house, hoping to shake faith in our participation in choosing our leaders, so that we will never take part again, or, at least, we will think twice before we do.  

    I, for one, won’t let them do it. 

    I have faced lies on picket signs on a daily basis, some with my name (or the name of my congregation) on them. 

    The lies are no longer on picket signs.   Do I liken the messages on the picket signs I saw in my past to the current posts bearing untruths that are driving people to continue believe in and spread conspiracies and baseless accusations?  

    Yes.   I do. 

    As I have said recently, I come from a people who has had to endure prejudice, discrimination and murder as a result of baseless accusations and unfounded claims that have persisted not only for years, but for centuries. 

    My people’s history is instructive for our current situation.  

   Let’s find a way back to truths and facts that more and more people will accept together.

   PS - See Thomas Friedman’s column now linked to my post.   

   I add my gratitude to people with integrity.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/opinion/trump-election-democracy.html?referringSource=articleShare&fbclid=IwAR0H_b6WYVyst46gPy0IrO2mYy2V9SooDz-zqNh5OJ8J8qv_zFJ19kWFuKU

November 26, 2020

I would like to ignore the tidal wave of disrespect I just heard coming from an incumbent lame duck leader....

The disrespect was aimed at...

Voters and their competence. 

Poll workers and vote counters. 

Secretaries of State. 

Early, in-person voting. 

Mail-in voting (yes, still). 

The incumbent’s opponent, who “couldn’t have received that many votes.” 

Mathematics.

Voting methods that Secretaries of State, state election officials, and intelligence officials have said worked like a charm, because of good preparation.  

The truth. 

Honest dealings between people. 

Moral and biblical standards that decry bearing false witness, spreading rumors, 

Rules about evidence, whether in personal statements or in a court of law. 

Sadly, I was unable to ignore it, as I heard it in its entirety.  

Just another day in November 2020 America.  

Yet, on this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for 

Poll workers and vote counters. 

Voters who voted. 

Government officials who have worked hard to count votes with timeliness and accuracy, despite harassment of all kinds. 

Honesty among all of the above and among public office holders. 

Truth-tellers.  

People who see that the greater national good goes well beyond one person. 

May we remain steadfast in what America means to us.

November 28, 2020

Watching a program on television that is recounting the Birther movement with regards to President Obama, where businessman Donald Trump perpetrated a conspiracy theory that was only that, and NOT TRUE, it is obvious to me that, with the tweet today from the incumbent that “BIDEN NEEDS TO PROVE HE GOT 80 MILLION VOTES” — because, says the incumbent, WITHOUT PROOF, that the election was rife with fraud — that businessman IS PERPETRATING YET ANOTHER CONSPIRACY THEORY similar to the birth certificate claim, where he says, over and over, something that is NOT TRUE without proving it and claims that the burden of proof rests on the his target. 

   Well that run-on sentence/paragraph, in the style of author Frank McCourt, was certainly a challenge.   Wish I didn’t have to write it.  

   I am thankful for people who dismiss conspiracy theories, and those who once accepted them and realize, before it is too late, that someone totally ideologically hoodwinked them.

December 2, 2020

We need leaders who treat poll workers and public officials as dedicated public servants to the country, not as lackeys in a diabolical plan to bypass election result so that the resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can remain out of reach from the REAL law and order people.  

Democrats are standing up to support these election officials, WHO DID THEIR JOB. 

Many Republicans are not standing up, implying that people who did their job that led to a result that the Republican Party did not desire must have been part of some conspiracy.    No, that’s not the problem.  It’s you who have no backbone, no moral center, to really stand up for democracy, because you fear that the people who don’t honor honest election officials will, ultimately, not honor or respect you. 

  I pray that this was not our last free Democratic election.  

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-elections-official-gabriel-sterling-rebukes-trump-after-threats-to-workers/#app

Let’s Be Good to One Another This Season - Column - Las Cruces Bulletin - December 4, 2020

          At this writing (November 25), we are engaged in different types of counting. 

       For example: it is one day until Thanksgiving, 15 days until the first night of Hanukkah (for those who celebrate), 29 days until Christmas Eve (for those who celebrate), and 36 days until the eve of 2020’s conclusion.  

       Vote counts in the 2020 Presidential election are still being certified. 

      Sadly, we note the increasing number of people who have been infected with COVID-19.  We remember people the world over who have died during this pandemic, offering our condolences and support to their family members. 

       In recent months, many holiday celebrations, meetings with family and friends, and gatherings for remembrance have been virtual. They have also been very meaningful. 

      We appreciate the commitment of health care workers, and the worldwide cooperation among medical experts that has led to the creation of not just one vaccine, but several vaccines, that will, hopefully, diminish the deleterious effects of COVID-19 on our lives.  

      As the days grow shorter leading up to winter, our light can still shine more brightly. That is likely why, long ago, light became a central aspect of various holiday observances at this time of year, along with their associated stories that lift up values such as hope, unity and dedication. 

      Hanukkah means dedication, recalling the reconsecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a sacred site of Jewish worship in 165 B.C., three years to the day after the Syrian Greek rulers of Judea had temporarily appropriated that holy place for their own purposes.    

    The Maccabees, the Jewish forces marshaled to regain the Temple, focused on the restoration of their religious freedom and on gaining independence from their tyrannical rulers.  

    Hanukkah was, at first, a celebration of that independence.  Eventually, once Jews were ruled by the Romans, the festival’s most prominent ritual was the kindling of special lights for eight nights to commemorate a victory grounded in faith.    

     Jews recite a section of the biblical book of Zechariah on the Sabbath during Hanukkah.  Sages of Jewish tradition highlighted the message of one declaration in that passage:  “Not by might, not by power, but by My spirit, says the Eternal One of all creation.”  

    That verse teaches the universal lesson that there are intangible and priceless aspects of our lives that must supersede any selfish designs people might have on gaining positions of power and control. 

     We have learned in 2020 that generous acts of kindness matter.  The support we offer one another in times of need and in the face of loss matter.  Our work towards fostering justice, equality, respect, and human decency matters.    All of these efforts belong in the realm of spirit, where power is merely a means to make them happen. 

       A teaching attributed to the Sufi mystic Rumi has been “making the rounds” lately on social media.   Sometimes those platforms, often filled with vociferous discourse, can provide us with gentle pearls of wisdom that can truly guide our lives.   Here is the quote:

      “I asked a wise man, ‘Tell me sir, in which field could I make a great career?’ He said, with a smile, ‘Be a good human being. There is a huge opportunity in this area.  And very little competition.’”

       More than ever, we need to be good human beings for ourselves, and for each other, so that we can engender optimism, safety and a cooperative spirit.   That is how we can sustain our community and our world.