A few of you may grimace and say, "What?" but my Jewish friends know what the deal is. Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Unlike the traditional US version of "New Year's" that involves raucous parties, the Jewish New Year asks its followers to think back about the past year, their life in general, and where they see their life going. It is a day of deep introspection. A friend posted the survey below on MySpace, and I thought it was a good exercise. I am not going to post my responses here, but I promise I have actually taken some time today to ponder each of these questions. I encourage you to do the same. We don't talk to ourselves enough to know what we want in life and what we want to leave behind. Take a few minutes and think of some answers to these questions. L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi (for all my ladies) and L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem (to all my guys).
1. When do I most feel that my life is meaningful?
2. How often do I express my feelings to those who mean the most to me?
3. Are there any ideals I would be willing to die for?
4. If I could live my life over, would I change anything?
5. What would bring me more happiness than anything else in the world?
6. What are my three most significant achievements since last Rosh Hashana?
7. What are the three biggest mistakes I've made since last Rosh Hashana?
8. What project or goal, if left undone, will I most regret next Rosh Hashana?
9. If I knew I couldn't fail, what would I undertake to accomplish in my life?
10. What are my three major goals in life? What am I doing to achieve them? What practical steps can I take in the next two months toward these goals?
11. If I could give my children only three pieces of advice, what would they be?
12. What is the most important decision I need to make this year?
13. What important decision did I avoid making last year?
14. What did I do last year that gave me the strongest feeling of self-respect?
15. When do I feel closest to God?
16. Do I have a vision of where I want to be one, three and five years from now?
17. What are the most important relationships in my life? Over the last year did those relationships become closer and deeper or was there a sense of stagnation and drifting? What can I do to nurture those relationships this year?
18. If I could change only one thing about myself, what would that be?
19. If I could change one thing about my spiritual life, what would it be?
2 comments:
That survey is WAY better than some silly resolutions. Thank you!
La Shana Tova, my dear.
Thanks lady! L'Shana tova!
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