Charles Shultz drew this cartoon, and in it, Charlie Brown says to Snoopy, "Some day, we will all die, Snoopy!" And Snoopy replies, "True, but on all the other days we will not.” Sounds so logical. We know that everything that lives also dies. It's easy to embrace life and living, but not so easy to embrace death and dying. So how do we navigate this truth about our mortality?

It’s the Jewish New Year, the celebration of 5777, and the wish you will hear exchanged, is “L'Shanah Tovah," which means, “A Good and Sweet Year.”  This is not an easy wish to have come true. We’re living in exceptionally challenging times — times of senseless animosity, and times of brutal expressions of hatred. Sometimes we get so discouraged, so disillusioned, it’s tempting to not listen to the news, to not vote, and to not care. That’s when Tikkun Olam becomes important.

Fish can be fascinating. Their scales are like gems shining in the crystal clear water. Their fins are like wooden paddles rowing forward. Their eyes are like pebbles on the sandy shore of the beach. And most importantly, they are each unique.

We’re so fearful of aging and the passage of time, that we forget its gift — old friends. I use the word, “old” with reverence. It takes time with friends to learn how we are similar and how we are different; which values we share and where we disagree. It takes a multitude of experiences to test integrity and to build trust. And it takes time to heal — to forgive and to move beyond the misunderstandings and arguments that happen — even in caring friendships. Many of you reading this have enduring relationships with me. We've weathered storms both together and separately. And there's deep respect for the challenges we’ve faced, and the strengths we’ve drawn upon in the important life and death issues inevitable to living a diverse and full life.

We are complex beings, and often, understanding how and why we react to something is a mystery. In last week’s blog, "Tangled Expectations," I describe how I reacted to the difference between my expectations and the reality of doing an art project with sticky, tangling, difficult-to-handle, electrical tape. In your comments, you asked a logical question, "Why not just use paint?"  The answer is — my body reacts badly to paint. It took a long time to solve the mystery of why, but finally, I know the answer.  My genetics and paint fumes are not compatible. Here’s the story: