Category — The year is over

Two old men have been best friends for years, and they are now in their early 90’s. One day, one suddenly becomes deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they’re reminiscing about their long friendship, when the dying man’s friend asks, “Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there’s baseball in heaven.”

The dying man says, “We’ve been friends for years – this I’ll do for you.” And then he dies.

A couple days later, his surviving friend is sleeping when he hears his friend’s voice. The voice says, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that there’s baseball in heaven.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“You’re pitching on Wednesday.”

***

A few years ago a newspaper was launched in England; original and innovative, it was to be the first all-good news newspaper in the world. In it the reader would find only news of donations, births, weddings and the like.

Not to anyone’s surprise, six months later, it declared bankruptcy with a 400,000,000 dollars deficit.

With that in mind, you probably won’t like this email; it will bore you, it will annoy you. You might even stop reading this weekly thought.

Can you guess why?

This email contains good news, a positive perspective. And if statistics are etched in stone and can never lie, then I can rest assured that you will delete this email, and quickly report this sender as spam. The end of the year will mark the end of my career.

So you continued reading – obviously you are curious (what kind of news is this guy talking about?) Here goes:

First of all, if you’re depressed because you feel no one cares, and you feel worthless and empty, then here’s some good news: do you know that there’s someone thinking about you, at least once a week? Yup, that’s me, for as long as you read my email (and send feedback), please consider this email a personal thought from me to you.

On a more serious note: with all that went wrong last year – and I’m sure there was lots of that – you have to admit that there was also lots of good. Remember the smiles, laughs, hugs and tears of joy?

How many times throughout the year did you see the Divine Providence in many different ways? From a chance meeting to a good bargain, from a new relationship to the reparation of a relationship gone cold, you’ve witnessed the hand of the Almighty.

You most probably met someone who believed in you, trusted in your ability to change the world, saw through you, and saw the beautiful person which is you.

Ok, you cry, but these are nothing compared to the half-cup-empty side of life! But what if no one believes in me? What if most of life seems to be a ladder up to heaven yet the angels are all climbing down?

In that case, may I suggest you go to the library, and read the biography of Maimonides, an orphaned child who, at age eight, was kicked out of his home. When you’re finished, go to the American history section and read the story of Abraham Lincoln – the ultimate loser.

While you’re at it, think of all those Holocaust survivors who rose from the ashes and built beautiful homes, and who contributed so much to society.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of harping on the bad – devouring the evil in the news, sulking about disappointments, blaming the world for every frustration. Yet bad news is just that, for it gets one nowhere in life. So here’s the good news. And though it may not sound as appealing as the horrific headlines, it’s the one piece of information you really need to know:

The bottom line is that you are the most special and unique person alive. You can achieve what ever you wish. (I can’t promise a victory against Tiger Woods). And whatever last year looked like, next year will be a greater year of achievement and happiness.

Life is great. It promises to be greater. So as you walk into the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, put a big smile on your face.

Then make sure to compliment the Rabbi on his tie.