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Our Two Cents: “Renewyear”
As one who is too busy to read the accompanying manual, I spend an inordinate amount of time getting frustrated with my electronic gadgets when I can’t get them to function the way I’d like. The urge to toss the computer out of the window is tempered by calling upon the technologically savvy to come to my rescue. When the whole thing crashes, I know enough to take a deep breath, hit Ctrl Alt Delete and reboot.
The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are set aside as a period of reflection, and opportunity in our too busy lives to look at where you’re at, where you’ve come from, and where you’re heading. To aid in that process, a Jewish on-line presence called Reboot Network (reboot.net) has come up with a program called “10Q” to Renew, Reflect, React.
10Q is an online series of questions, one a day for ten days. After signing up (renewyear.com), each day a question will land in your inbox along with a link. When you click on the link, you will be taken to a private and personal space where you can answer the question. Your answer will be stored. The next day, you will receive another question and a link. And so on, for ten days.
At the end of the ten days, you have a day or so post-Yom Kippur to reflect on your answers. You’ll be asked if you would like to share your answers with the 10Q editorial staff and/or a wider audience, either anonymously or attributed. You will then be invited to send your answers to a locked online vault. Next year, before Rosh Hashanah, your answers will be sent back to you for reflection.
Here are some examples of questions that you can expect to receive along with some of last year’s answers:
Is there something that you wish you had done differently this past year? How would you have done it differently? And how can you learn from it to improve how things turn out in the future? “Taken more steps to heal a family rift that I stayed away from because I was not directly involved. I would have tried to heal hurts and misconceptions.”
Describe a broader event in the world that has impacted you this year? How and Why? “We have Obama as president, who we all hoped would lead a large, positive change for our country. He made a lot of campaign promises for civil rights for gays and lesbians, but so far hasn’t followed through on any of them.”
Have you had any particularly spiritual experiences this past year? “I saw the Dalai Lama speak at the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts last summer. It was like a secular spectator’s church. As the crowed slurped on its Coca-Cola beverages and wolfed down hot dogs, we were reminded of things we already knew. Be nice to people. Judge actions, not people. The message was the same, but the messenger was a warm, friendly, humble man. And that made all the difference.”
Is there part of yourself that you want to work on in the coming year? “I want to come to terms with my envy and jealousy and not let it dominate me.”
Bonus question: What are your 2010 predictions? “The economy will turn around. Environmental issues will gain a bit more gravity. Grey’s Anatomy will be canceled.”
Daniel Alder 212-674-5750
dalder@brotherhoodsynagogue.org
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