2008 has been a year of hope, a year of healing and a year of restoration. I have a couple of new favorite quotes:
1. "Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference." Virginia Satir.
2. "We are all broken and wounded in this world. Some choose to grow strong at the broken places." Harold J. Duarte-Bernhardt. He was not the first to talk about being strong at the broken places. Ernest Hemingway, a very broken soul himself, is quoted "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
In 2008 I have seen a lot of sadness, a lot of brokenness. I have also seen strength and courage, determination and healing. From members of my own family, to close friends, to people I don't even know, I've seen the pain of loss, but I've also seen the light of hope; the struggle to be strong at the broken places.
So as 2008 comes to a close, I'd like to share the following story, written by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis
"We have seen Yitzhak Perlman who walks the stage with braces on both legs, on two crutches.
He takes his seat, unhinges the clasps of his legs, tucking one leg back, extending the other, laying down his crutches, placing the violin under his chin.
On one occasion one of his violin strings broke. The audience grew silent but the violinist did not leave the stage. He signaled the maestro, and the orchestra began its part. The violinist played with power and intensity on only three strings.
With three strings, he modulated, changed and recomposed the piece in his head, he retuned the strings to get different sounds, turned them upward and downward.
The audience screamed delight, applauded their appreciation. Asked later how he had accomplished this feat, the violinist answered, It is my task to make music with what remains.
A legacy mightier than a concert. Make music with what remains. Complete the song left for us to sing, transcend the loss, play it out with heart, soul and might, with all remaining strength within us."
