Page 2 - November 2018

The Prez Sez
As some of you may have seen on Facebook, I spent two weeks of my October in India, and then another week in London and Copenhagen. I have been fortunate to be able to travel. To experience other people and cultures puts my life, our lives, into a better perspective.
India was absolutely amazing. When I had thought of India, I thought about the poverty, the hopelessness and the unsanitary conditions. I feared the travel, the
spicy food, the undrinkable water, and what
the bathrooms would look like. What I found
was a country rich with culture and values
(religious and family). I also experienced a
country where the people were incredibly
friendly and helpful. Children would
run across the fields waving and greeting
us throughout our trip. Even the adults on motorbikes smiled and gave thumbs up as they passed us on our bicycles. People would thank us for visiting their country. The stranger in their land was warmly welcomed.
We all too often look at the world through the lenses of our eyes (which are often jaded with fear and suspicion). We think others are poor or have no hope or chance because they don’t have what we have. We think people can only be happy if they are like us. However, many of the things we have are not important to them at all. While we are very fortunate to have been born or immigrated here (accident of birth), we all too often assume that others want our life. Peace of mind doesn’t come from opportunity or what we possess. If you define happiness as getting what you want then, at some point, you’ll always be disappointed. Happiness must come from being happy with what you have.
India is a beautiful yet brutal country. They lead a simple yet tough life. Each day can be a struggle to survive. India is one third the size of the USA and has 1.27 billion people (four times our population). Arranged marriage
is still a thing, as is inter-generational housing. (Which might you think is worse? Not only did you not pick your wife, but now you have to live with her mother too!) They do both for a variety of reasons; it is common, and it seems to work.
Population growth is out of control. They can’t build enough infrastructure to support their people. They have conflicts among castes, religions, and political factions not unlike the problems we have in the USA.
We certainly have problems here at home, but they are not so unusual in the scheme of history, and we should not be so naive to think that history
couldn’t repeat itself here.
Why do we always think we’re so different, or better, than other countries or cultures? Look what we’ve become, and one could say we’ve done what many other nations have done when their prime had passed. We tear each other apart because we didn’t get what we wanted (for ourselves or for others). Wandering around other countries makes me realize that our lives matter when we do something with them. They probably won’t
matter on the world level, and that’s okay.
I believe most of us are meant to make life better for our family, friends, and community. If we all did more of that, perhaps it would filter out into our nation and the world. We’d have the impact we want but not the anxiety or pressure of believing we, individually, had to change someone’s mind on the other side of the country.
Chances are, most of us won’t even be remembered after a generation or two. Sure, people may see plaques for what we gave or did, but they won’t know who we were. Knowing this to be the norm, does this change your values or goals? Will it change the way you spend your time or resources? We think we have so much; yet those who we think don’t have anything may have much more.
Larry H
FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED
FUNERAL SERVICE
Providing Caring, Affordable Service to Clark County’s Jewish Community
503-232-5131
SINCE 1854
2610 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. • Portland, OR 97214
www.HolmansFuneralService.com
Page 2
Cheshvan / Kislev 5778uNovember 2018