Two days ago, Jackson wrote a post about the inspiring Dr. Massouda Jalal, and something he quoted that she said during the Q&A of her documentary Frontrunner, has resonated with me for days:
“To die believing in nothing, serving no ideals, is to die without meaning.”
This hit me like a Truth Bolt! And shaken out of my day-in-day out routine, I started thinking… about what I believe in, and if I am fully serving my ideals. Day in-day out am I doing enough, am I doing my utmost to realize my dreams, to uplift or inspire or improve my world? The fact that I am still pondering those questions seems to be a clear answer.
And this reminded me of the Sabbath meal I shared a while back with my Hasidic Jewish neighbors, and the concept they shared with me of Tzedakah. Which is the Hebrew word for charity, but embodies an entire philosophy similar to the idea of “pay-it-forward”, or Karma. That is improving our world and thus our own lives through random acts of kindness.
Like the woman last week who randomly and happily bought me a pint of ice-cream at the local scoop shop. Her reason: “Random act of kindness”. So I turned and tipped the server the cost of my pint. And that woman’s smile sticks with me.
In Orthodox Judaism tzedakah is seen as a religious obligation, which must be performed by all and is considered to be one of the most important parts of living a full spiritual life. But imagine a world where everyone, everyday makes some kind gesture, big or small, to someone not expecting it. The karmic ripple effect of positivity that might create.
It brings me back to Dr. Jalal’s quote, and the similiar famous saying by education reformer Horace Mann:”Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
Does ice-cream change the world, or a tip? Or these words, this post itself? Probably not. But I still remember that woman’s face, the simple joy she radiated. It was rare. Made my day. Is that enough? This post, even if it moves one person, is that enough? Am I, are each and everyone of us doing enough every single day? Can we do more?
The question is the answer. Start small. Spread Love.
-jordan
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