Do You Have An Opinion?

When I lived in Riga, Latvia until 1972, it was part of the Soviet Union, with its oppressive regime. Telling jokes was probably the way to laugh at our circumstances. One of them was about a guy who was expressing negative opinions about the government. When he was arrested and brought for questioning, he gave all of his answers according to the party lines. Surprised, the investigator asked him, “Don’t you have your own opinion?” The man answered, “Of course I do, but I disagree with it.” After being married for over 52 years, my wife Elfa still complains that I change my opinion about some subject a week after expressing it. To this my answer is very simple, “This week I know something which I did not know before.”

Of course by now all of those people have different opinions. I just wonder how we (and many others) will change our opinions a month from now. There is a saying, “If I only was smart then, as my wife is now.” I want to finish by sharing with you another joke.

At the interfaith conference representatives of different religions discussed the subject, when does life begin. After a long presentation with quoting the Scripture, a Catholic priest concluded that lives begin at the embryo conception. The next was Protestant minister, who claimed that life begins when a child is born. While they were talking, the rabbi fell asleep. They woke him up with a question, “What is your opinion when life begins?” “My opinion,” answered the rabbi, while stretching his arms, is that life begins when children leave home and the dog is dead.”

P.S. I hope you find my jokes funny, since I am working on my next photo-story book, “42 Encounters with Laughter”. There are going to be 42 jokes with 42 images of people laughing. I’ve included four of them.

Enjoy and Share with a Friend.

  

I Know That I Do Not Know

I am paraphrasing the Greek philosopher Socrates, who lived in c. 470-399 BC. According to his pupil Plato, who recorded his teacher’s sayings, Socrates created the Socratic Paradox by declaring “I know that I know nothing.” My original intention was to title this story, “How do you know or claim that you know?” It was rather long, however the question(s) I ask myself and anyone who claims to know what they are talking about, like which steps need to be taken before we will be allowed to go to work, or why wear a facemask if I am six feet apart? We can apply those questions to anything in our lives, especially when the directives come from the authority or politicians, based on the opinions of so-called experts.

After I finished reading the article, I told my wife that I feel vindicated. Since I read various sources and ask myself and others different questions, I am not comfortable with the way coronavirus epidemics is addressed, since it does not take into account the side effects, not the diseases people are dying from, but the economics of it and how it affects those who do not die. Dr. Ioannidis states, “Compared to almost any other cause of disease that I can think of, it’s really sparing young people. I’m not saying that the lives of 80-year olds do not have value – they do”, he says. “But there’s far, far, far more… young people who commit suicide.” “If the panic and attendant disruption continue, he says, “we will see many young people committing suicide… just because we are spreading horror stories with Covid-19.” I do not want to end my feel good story with such negative comments. But I actually consider it as good news, as the article is titled. Very soon positive ideas will prevail, and I think this is what will gradually diminish our concerns. As I pointed out before, I focus on what I WANT, not the opposite. This is why this article was written. I strongly encourage you to read it.

After I finished writing this story, another article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on Monday, April 27^th by T.T. Rodgers titled “Do Lockdowns Save Many Lives? In Most Places, the Data Say No”. The article points out that “The speed with which officials shuttered the economy appears not to be a factor in Covid deaths”. Please do not be blinded by so-called “facts from the experts”. Use Socrates’ method to ask questions, after all “I know that I know nothing”.

P.S. In spite of the claim we do know, as he pointed out, something. We know that tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day, which in the Jewish tradition starts in the evening. Therefore I decided to share with you four beautiful sunsets.

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Why I Do Not Worry

Worry is defined as a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.

One of the reasons I do not worry is that I have no time for this occupation, since I always expect a positive outcome and focus my attention on what I WANT, rather than the opposite. In our lives we are surrounded with a lot of negativity. In his book “Thinking Fast and Slow”, Daniel Kahneman points out that the survival mechanism is built on recognizing danger; therefore, we pay more attention to the potential threat. The media is using our propensity for fear by feeding us with scary stories. This leads to worrying about our future. The major problem with this is that constant worry leads to emotional stress, which can trigger many other health problems. To avoid worrying, I follow a piece of advice from the book “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein; “Your car goes where your eyes go”. We all have choices. While I follow the protocol related to the current medical conditions, I focus on the well-being of my family and helping my clients. Since I intend to live a long and productive life, I take care of my body and my soul by strengthening my immune system and avoiding negative information. In Russian there is a saying, “A healthy mind in a healthy body”. I believe it is my healthy mind which prevents me from worry. I am a firm believer that all things in life happen for a reason, and there are only good reasons, and therefore, there is nothing to worry about.

P.S. One evening during the Shelter in Place, I decided to go out to photograph the empty streets. I drove to Castro Street and there I found a lot of lights in the midst of the darkness. The next morning the streets were still empty, but filled with the light of the sun, and this happened without us worrying about it.

Enjoy and Share with a Friend and Do Not Worry!

  

How Those Nights Are Different
From All Other Nights

Yesterday, Thursday, April 16, was the last day of the Jewish holiday Passover. It started last week, on Wednesday, April 8^th and outside Israel was celebrated for two nights with the festive dinner, called a Seder, during which the story of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt in about 1313 BC is retold for the benefits of the next generation. On both nights, a two-hour long story starts with the question “Ma Nishtana?” which in English means “How different is this night from all other nights?” The youngest child traditionally asks the question, and adults sing in response that on those nights we eat specific foods and drink four cups of wine while reclining on a pillow like free people. Though in the Jewish history there were times when we could not be free or be together with our families to celebrate and to retell the story. The celebration always ended (before singing a specific song) with the statement, “Next Year in the rebuilt Jerusalem!”

My wife Elfa and I celebrated the first night of Passover together. On the second night, we had both of our daughters, their significant others and their friends. We connected with Palm Springs, Los Angeles and even Israel (at 4 o’clock in the morning). What made this night different was that miracles, which started over 3,300 years ago, continued and sometimes it takes special events like COVID-19 to manifest. 

At the same time, regardless of the technological advances for me, nothing can substitute a loving kiss, a friendly hug and a connecting handshake. I am looking forward to the time when these connections are going to be possible again.

P.S. Though we have to maintain the social distancing, this should not preclude us from seeing other people, breathing fresh air and enjoying spring beauty. I accomplished this last Sunday. As in the past, we took Max for a walk around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. This is where I (safely) encountered other people (and birds) who had similar ideas.

After I sent the image to a lovely couple playing ukuleles, the text came back, “As a little tidbit for your story. We met a week before the pandemic and have been social distance dating ever since.” When I complimented the two men on their creative face masks, they told me that those are napkins they used for their lunch. Whatever it takes to be safe. Please note that I captured all three of them walking with the same rhythm. Since today it is a long story, I decided to add a bonus image of a man who is getting the healing rays of the sun and some vitamin D.

Be Safe, Enjoy and Share with a Friend!

  

Passover, Easter & COVID-19

In Wikipedia I learned that the term “Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity’s derivation from Judaism, both religions’ common use of the Bible, or due to perceived parallels or commonalities and shared values between the two religions.” If you are reading this story on Friday, April 10^th, it is the Christian holiday, “Good Friday”, which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Three days later is Easter Sunday, a joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection. 

But there is something not less significant, which unifies both religions and brings it to the issues of today – the coronavirus. Both holidays signify death, sacrifice and a brighter future. Passover story contains the 10^th plague during which an uncountable number of the first-born Egyptians died to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites slaves leave Egypt on the way to their freedom. And then thousands of former slaves died during their forty years in the desert to allow the new generation to arrive to their destination – the Land of Israel. And this is where the next drama developed about thirteen hundred years later. At about 4 B.C., the Jewish carpenter Joseph’s son was born, who was named Yeshua or Joshua, which in Hebrew means “God is salvation”. He was a preacher whose message was that the end of the known world, which was the Roman occupation of his homeland Palestine, was coming to an end. The Jews had to repent and change the way they live to be saved in the world to come. After he was arrested for his provocative unorthodox teachings by the Jewish authorities, he was forwarded to the Romans and was crucified, as it was a common practice of killing of rebels in those days. Years later, his teachings continued to excite people and he was given the Greek name Jesus with the added Christ, which in Greek means “the anointed one”. Thus, Jesus Christ became the founder of Christianity with many followers and gospels, who told his stories. It was not an easy journey and thousands of Christians were killed on their way to create one of the major world religions in our times. 

And now we are brought to 2020, the unfortunate time of the Corona virus pandemic. Many people have been affected, and have died or are going to. After it is over, I do not think there is going to be a major event to commemorate COVID-19, but in a short time, it managed to accomplish what no other historic major events or wars ever did, it united people all over the world to confront and to cooperate protecting ourselves and saving lives. Will this bring peace, salvation or the Messiah? Time will tell. In the meantime, let’s express our gratitude for being alive and many other blessings.

Happy Holidays! Stay Safe!

P.S. Spring is the time of new beginnings, joy and beauty, which you can see in the four images of flowers, which grow in my neighborhood.

Enjoy and Share with a Friend!