Say what you will, but there are two factors that rock my world. Well, maybe more than two, but let’s start with these:
Swim and Sweat
Nothing compares with detaching from everything electronic and diving in, using each muscle to propel myself through water. Stress, anxiety, doubt – everything vanishes with rhythmic kicking and my arms’ rotations. The trance-like state continues until the end of the racing stripe below cautions to prepare my turn or I will meet the wall head-on.
Lap after lap results in a euphoric endorphin rush that culminates with a visit to the sauna for divine inspiration. Could life get better?
Let me explain.
The sauna door is halfway open and already I’m enveloped by the heat inside. Water in a wooden bowl stands ready to be doused in small scoops onto the heated stones. Angelica keeps it filled, a fifty-something-year-old woman from South America who spends 10 hours a day cleaning the entire facility, which she’s entitled to use.
Sometimes we are sauna companions, which is fine with me since she doesn’t mind sitting in silence, just sitting there, sweating, almost in a state of meditation.
She also doesn’t mind when I gently pepper questions about her life. We sweat and she tells me about her family, thousands of miles away, whom she hasn’t seen in years. She reveals heartaches; we discuss pain she’s lived through. I ask about her job, what she does at the facility, what her day is like.
Angelica becomes animated. She LOVES her job. In fact, much of her day is spent THANKING G-D for it. She points to the ceiling, closes her eyes, joins her palms in prayer. She says that she starts her day by thanking G-d for her job before she comes to work and then again at 3:00pm. At that point, she stops everything to send another message of gratitude straight up to heaven. Later in the evening, she returns to the small apartment she shares with several other people, gets on her knees and offers her final thanks of the day.
Among other maintenance responsibilities, Angelica scrubs about a dozen shower stalls, toilets and sinks a few times each day. She is aging alone, her loved ones halfway around the globe.
“I am happy, so happy. I have everything,” she says. “I have my amigas , I have this job where I can swim and use the sauna and steam. I have G-d – I have everything.”
It wasn’t always this way. She explains that upon arriving to the US, there was nothing but faith to live on. So that’s what she did.
Each day she prayed for G-d to help her find a job. Months turned into years. Still, she prayed and never stopped believing that her prayers would be answered.
And one day they were.
Our time in the sauna is never more than about 10 minutes, so our conversations don’t last long. But that’s all it takes for Angelica’s gratitude and simple faith to redirect the stress, anxiety and doubt that I let go of when I first hit the pool.
Throughout the day, I’m inspired to send heavenly thanks for the magnitude of what we all share, loved ones and friends who care about us being the most precious possession of all. The caring we receive inspires us to care about others. It resonates in the generosity that surrounds us each moment.
This is what we want for our girls at the Rubin-Zeffren Children’s Home in Netanya. We want these orphaned and disadvantaged young souls to experience what it’s like to be grateful for what they have and to harness it all to one day give it back to others.
The greatest gift we can give them is the understanding that, although oceans separate us, our hearts are connected to theirs. Providing their basic care and specialized mental health needs is the only way for them to move from past trauma into a life where they discover their true potentials and one day give generously of themselves.
Our generosity produces the same good feelings as the endorphin rush that comes from exercise. And when you consider how much we have, giving to the girls is truly no sweat at all.
May you have the awareness of all the good heaven has bestowed your way and many opportunities to spread your kind generosity to make this world a better place.
Sincerely,
Rachel Weinstein
Director of Development
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Michael Duvall says:
February 23, 2012 at 7:21 pm (UTC -4 )
Rachel,
Although we are Christian, G_d has given us a passionate love for the Jews and Israel.
My wife Brenda and I are retired now and have a modest income. We are not unacquainted with pain and suffering. Our 32 year old son Scott lives with us. He has been blind and unable to walk since age four. Still, G_d has given us great joy through all the trials.
I don’t know what the Hebrew word for joy is, but it is my favorite word in the English language. Although we perhaps will never meet “our girls” at the orphanage, our hearts overflow with compassion for them and with joy to be able to help them in small measure.
Thank you for all you do for “our girls”!!!
Rachel Weinstein says:
February 27, 2012 at 4:07 pm (UTC -4 )
Michael,
Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m sorry you are able to relate so well to pain and disappointment, which are infinitely compounded when our children are involved. In your kind words, however, it’s easy to see how lucky Scott was that G-d chose you and Brenda to be his parents.
The reason we call ourselves ‘Lev LaLev’ – ‘Heart to Heart’ – is because our wish is for the plight of our vulnerable girls to enter the hearts of people around the globe and stimulate compassion and generosity. Of course our main concern is their basic care and the desperately needed specialized services; however, we have no doubt thoughts and prayers you mentioned have an indelible impact on them as well.
Incidentally, your interest in the Hebrew word for ‘joy’ could not have come at a better time! Just last week we entered the month of Adar which has the inherent quality of a joy that manifests itself in the holiday of Purim.
Joy has so many components, which is why it is expressed several ways in Hebrew. The most common word used is ‘simcha,’ which I wish for you and your family!
Thanks so much for being a motivation in our work and a valued partner in all we do.
All the best,
Rachel
Happy Days are Here Again! » Welcome to Lev LaLev's Blog! says:
February 29, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC -4 )
[...] occurred at this time. Let’s tap into the joy that emanates when we unify and give to others. Read Michael’s comments about the joy he gets by giving to the girls and keeping them in his [...]