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For many of us, April is a very busy month. Not only are we preparing our homes for Passover, we are also preparing our financials for taxes. It can be a tremendous amount of work. But now that the tax and holiday season is behind us and the stress of trying to accomplish our goals timely has subsided, we can savor the enjoyable memories we had with family and friends.

If you’re like most people, thinking about your mortality is not the most pleasurable experience. As mere mortals, we are not created to live forever and have no idea when our last day will be. Although you may not want to think about it, avoidance is not your best choice because you’re not considering the ones you love and who love you.

Friends: My prior reminders that “We are all in this together” never rang more true than now. During my hiatus, it is not only I who have changed, seems the world jumped aboard. Around Purim time the “Upside-down” status intensified. Now we find ourselves heading towards Pesach, our holiday of liberation with more restrictions in our lives than ever.  I am astounded by the timing of Coronavirus.

Friends: I have missed you all. Thank you so much for your loyal support and connection. I have been involved in projects and needed a break. A trainer taught me that rest in between sets – intervals - is part of progress. I have made much progress in many areas of my life gratefully and I have also taken a few steps backwards. I learned to accept “relapse is part of recovery.” Resisting or forcing anything is ineffective. I was controlled, hushed, and rushed most of my life.  Those days are over, thankfully!

As we count up towards Shavuos, I am increasingly aware of time going by – time I aim to use productively. Counting up as opposed to down allowed me to be present in the process, growing each day, and not focused on an end goal/date/next. It is a lesson for life, friends, since this day is all we’ve got. I changed again over Pesach and put goals in place with a plan; goals that involve other people are not within our control. Self-actualization is. I promised new beginnings. No more rinse and repeat. I am determinedly taking massive action on things put off prior, in order to know that I can count on myself. Boundaries are so important for someone like me, who tends to put others first and become distracted. I am learning. I have been blessed with the ability to transform constantly. The many diverse wonderful people who seek me out keep me on my toes. The accountability is important. Working on a singular focus is not natural for me. So I go out of my comfort zone, willingly and repeatedly. Real growth is never easy. We invest our time, our heart, and our money in what matters most. Therapies, treatments, potions, self-care, exercise facilities, coaches are not cheap or easy, but well worth it.

I don’t do almost. Almost people are the ones who repeatedly miss the boat. From a song: I’ll sing you a song that you feel. A wise colleague pinned me in a moment. He told me, “You give people significance, make them feel important, so they can imagine hope.” Hmmm. Well, it’s real. From an ad: What comes from the soul you can’t fake, can’t practice, it just is.