Only by applying the right medicine, casts, fixtures, can you heal breaks beautifully

It takes no genius to know the world is in a deep crises

I was recently by the annual JNF conference and Howard Lutz a very bright good Jewish pollster said the only people who are positive in America are the children and students – which fills me with but a beacon of hope (for after all, the adults are a bit more experienced)

They say knowing the problem is half the cure.

Mr. Kahn comes to our synagogue every Rosh Hashanah and he told me “I am over 80 and I have yet to see the world not in chaos.”

But why?

The world I grew up in was peaceful – o.k. I was born in 1974 so I didn’t know about that Vietnam war, the Korean war, world war two, all of these were history – my actual life experience (until I saw what some people live in – perhaps a large portion of the world – when I lived in Africa) was very very very good.

So why are people despondent?

The answer is very very very simple – despondency is a reflection of experience – when you are a child or student your experiences with life are fairly safe – Despondency is a reflection of having been through the mill and hence not only are you aware of a dark side of human nature, you also become fearful – for whatever happened once is likely to reoccur – fear breeds a whole new neurosis – and it is impossible to be hopeful, when you live in fear.

So in other words, at the very core of our problem is not reality – at the very core of our problem is simply fear.

But fear can, should and must be beat – I have been though an anxious period in my life and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy – however ultimately we can choose to believe in the messianic redemption which gives you hope and hope is the antidote to despondency – furthermore the benefit of anxiety is it focuses the mind (unlike a childhood fantasy driven mindset as often teenagers are.)

This focus allows one to truly make a meaningful difference – so all in all, if life is good or bad – is really totally up to you!