by guest blogger Sara Steinfeld
There’s a story you tell to the world
You know the one
Where you look so good
& got it all together
while everyone’s watching.
It’s called ‘pretenses’
Because you know, oh you know
you’re just pretending.
Win or Learn
“You either win, or you learn”
~ Avi Fishoff
I never really thought of myself as a perfectionist; more like a person who likes to do things well. But I think that’s like calling Hurricane Katrina a “rainy day.” Over the years it has become clear to me that the distress that I feel at doing things imperfectly is hurting me and others.
For some annoying reason, my phone crashes five times a day. Now, it may be because, when I decided to defect from Team Android to Team IPhone about a year ago, I bought the most cost-effective (still ridiculously overpriced) iPhone I could find: a refurbished iPhone 6S plus. Rose gold, because you asked. It’s very pretty.
Tali is a super chatty middle-aged Sephardic Israeli woman who drove me to the airport on my recent trip to Israel. Her parents are Moroccan, and she recently traveled with them to Morocco for a visit. She told me that the Muslims in Morocco are so wonderful, kind and hospitable – they literally keep their doors open for guests. There is a reverent relationship from the Moroccan monarchy to the Jewish people, such that every Yom Kippur, at Neilah, the king comes himself to the Jewish synagogue to ask the congregants for a blessing. This is a tradition that has been practiced for years, passed down in the monarchy from father to son.
The air is cooler, softer. There are new starts, new school supplies, new shoes and haircuts (and backpacks and socks and hair accessories). “First day of second grade!” my social media accounts proclaim. The new season blows in the the new Jewish year. Lots of firsts.
It was a long time ago – at least 30 years. I was in junior high school and I don’t remember the circumstances. But here’s what I do remember: there was some food that we didn’t want to throw away, and someone said “I’ll eat it, so it doesn’t go to waste.”