Heroes

Before I moved to Israel I was much the same as I am now. I added each day onto the last, and I tried to improve myself as I woke and thrived in each and every day. I had, the same as before, lame checks and balances, wondering if I was lost, or if I had unwittingly succeeded, unknowingly. Then I began to let my life from before go, admitting it into the land of the lost, the actual land from before. But, before I had left that land, back in America, I had this idea that I could ride any eventuality, and that I’d be okay with the fallout of any scenario. All I’d need was a bit of time to settle into a new mindset. I had no idea at the time; hehe: what I didn’t understand was that “a new mindset” erased the past, becoming a kind of full reset. So, when I moved across the planet I’d pressed a reset button, but… yeah, um, I actually had understood that all along, and 'wittingly' left it all behind.

We are all full of potential, and we decide or deny in every moment the path we WILL take. This is done, primarily, with the help of those we encounter along the way. So, each interaction I have builds a core element in my being, within the ME of me. Some interactions fall short and disappear, not many, but others hit this exact button, square on, and life unfolds as it must, as it should, and completely without my acquiescence, בגלל. My kids are a good example of this idea. Each landed in a foreign land at a young age, a land which spoke a foreign language, and had a cultural background beyond anything that could be improved upon by learning from the system at hand. My two boys, each, have a story of their own, or many, but the story I understand starts with their procreation of the next generation. It’s easiest to understand this idea based upon what I wrote earlier: ‘I was much the same as I am now. I added each day onto the last, and I tried to improve myself as I woke and thrived in each and every day.’ This is the force that flings us forward. We all understand that the next generation defines us, literally and actually; yeah, metaphorically as well. We are the future because our kids make it so.

I grew up in California, living the dream of manifest destiny, but having been born in the exact pin on a map of the idea. My parents came from everywhere. They, too, were implanted into the destiny I’d been born into. My mother moved out west from Wisconsin, and my father was born into the eruption which was about to become in California. Back east, and north, my mother had been subjected to the “fallout” of a scenario that I could never wish upon my worst enemy. But, she met my father, who had succeeded, unknowingly, in building upon a foundation to grow the next generation. I’ll always remember how he wanted me to graduate from boogie boarding to surfing, to become something he could brag about to his buddies at work, building cities for the future to dwell upon. Yeah, I took the bait, and am a better person today because of it. My dad is my hero, without a doubt. My mom as well. But, my kids, my boys, are my biggest heroes by far.

I teach about 150 students each year. I teach them English. And, when I say “English,” I mean life. In other words, I use teaching English to teach about “life.” And… how could I not?! When I started to teach English, I did so in order to build the world, one human at a time. While traveling through Indonesia, taking a break from teaching art at the Zikhron Art Center, I realized that with English, one could thrive in the world. And, this is exactly what I’ve witnessed hence. The lives of our guides, for instance, that we’ve had on our travels across the world support this idea completely. I am still connected with guides from Madagascar, Bali, Flores, Rajasthan, Morocco, Tanzania, and others. They are building their lives, I see from afar, using English as one of the main tools to do so. Sure, I speak English, so maybe it’s just what I can glean from our interactions, but isn’t that the actual point?! To interact…?

Heroes are those who stand out, who rise above, and who last the longest in our stories. We remember, culturally, those who epitomize the virtues which we hold up as attainable. Heroes are the individuals who last in our collective memory. Individually we all have our heroes, and if we don’t it’s because we just can’t get our heads around the idea. The heroes of Israel, for instance, are the reserve soldiers, and their wives and children, who wait patiently for their return to living life from the frontline, at the edge of our homeland, battling evil. Or my father, for instance, is my hero because he understood the world he was born into, encouraging me to surf, something that has gone on to define me spiritually in my life. My mother encouraged me to be different, something other, and to move to that calling, no matter what. My parents are no longer with us (זכרונם לברכה), but what all this has taught me is that: my children are my heroes. They have gone out into the world (a world their mother and I placed them into), and succeeded beyond what anyone would think possible, or even plausible. Their wives are also my heroes. The pain and sacrifice they must have gone through, as women in the world, is only possible for me, as a man, to conceptualize. My grandkids are my heroes, and my students are also my heroes. Each has a life to live in front of them... It’s a huge endeavor, life, and I commend each and every one of them, struggling with a world that is becoming more and more difficult to navigate, and I love them all. 

My heroes are my family, my friends, my students, and my colleagues, may the year to come be ALL that YOU believe possible. We are ALL ONE! And, yeah... you know, YOU are my hero! 

Shana tova!